1. No category

White Paper
On the Case of
Leopoldo López Mendoza
Citizen of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
v.
Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Authored By:
Jared Genser1
Perseus Strategies
José Antonio Maes
April 16, 2015 (updated)
Original Published July 21, 2014
1
Jared Genser serves as international counsel to Leopoldo López. Jose Antonio Maes previously served as López’s
domestic counsel. For further information in English, contact +1 202 320 4135 or [email protected].
For information in Spanish, contact Juan Carlos Gutierrez, López’s domestic counsel, +58 412 33 217 44 or
[email protected]. Perseus Strategies would like to thank Sara Birkenthal, Michael Cullen, Chris
Fletcher, Samuel Ritholtz, Nicole Santiago and Juancarlos Vargas for their support.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 3
I.
Biographical Information on Leopoldo López Mendoza ......................................................... 5
II.
Background Context and Current Situation in Venezuela ...................................................... 9
III.
Protests of January 2014 to Present ..................................................................................... 13
A.
Blame by Political Officials ................................................................................................................... 19
B.
Charges and Arrest ................................................................................................................................. 21
C.
Legal Proceedings .................................................................................................................................. 26
D.
Conditions of Imprisonment .................................................................................................................. 29
IV. History of Past Persecution – False Accusations and Disqualification to Exercise Political
Rights Without Due Process of Law 3500.................................................................................... 32
V. Legal Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 33
A.
The Detention Resulted from Leopoldo López’s Exercise of the Rights or Freedoms Guaranteed by the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Universal Declaration of Human Rights ............. 33
1.
The Venezuelan Government Arrested and Imprisoned Leopoldo López Because He Exercised His
Right to Freedom of Expression ................................................................................................................ 34
2.
The Venezuelan Government Arrested and Imprisoned Leopoldo López Because He Exercised His
Right to Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association ....................................................................... 39
3.
The Venezuelan Government Arrested and Imprisoned Leopoldo López Because He Exercised His
Right to Take Part in Public Affairs and Be Elected Without Unreasonable Restrictions ........................ 40
B.
The Trial and Detention of Leopoldo López Failed to Respect International Norms Relating to the
Right to a Fair Trial Guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights .......................................................................................................... 41
1.
The Venezuelan Government Failed to Provide Leopoldo López an Independent and Impartial
Judiciary ..................................................................................................................................................... 41
2.
The Venezuelan Government Failed to Afford Leopoldo López the Presumption of Innocence ..... 44
3.
The Venezuelan Government Failed to Provide Leopoldo López with the Right to Present His
Defense ...................................................................................................................................................... 45
4.
C.
The Venezuelan Government Failed to Provide the Right to Attorney-Client Confidentiality ......... 46
The Extended Solitary Confinement of Leopoldo López Violates the Prohibition Against Torture ..... 47
VI. Opinion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ............................................... 48
1
VII. International Support .......................................................................................................... 50
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 57
Appendix I – Overview of Past Political Persecution Against Leopoldo López by Venezuelan
Government: False Accusations and Disqualification to Exercise Political Rights Without Due
Process of Law .............................................................................................................................. 59
Appendix II – Leopoldo López’s Speeches (January 23, 2014, February 12, 2014, February 16,
2014, and February 18, 2014; Opening Statement to Court, June 2, 2014).................................. 66
Appendix III – Opeds in Miami Herald, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York
Times ............................................................................................................................................. 97
2
Executive Summary
During the past few decades, democracy and respect for human rights has expanded
throughout Latin America. After the 1958 coup that displaced Marcos Perez Jimenez, Venezuela
became an example of a Latin American democracy. However, in the past fifteen years this has
not held true, as successive rulers have eroded respect for human rights and the rule of law in
Venezuela. The presidencies of Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) and Nicolás Maduro (2013-present)
have been marked by violence, inflation, scarcity of goods, a lack of judicial independence and
impartiality, and increasing persecution of journalists and political opponents. During his time in
office, Chávez enacted a series of social and economic measures, including nationalization,
social welfare programs, and opposition to neoliberal economics, aimed at improving quality of
life for Venezuelans. Despite Chávez’s bold vision for the country, his presidency saw a
dramatic concentration of power and disregard for human-rights protections, and his economic
model proved unsustainable. Starting particularly in 2009, the Chávez government targeted a
number of opposition leaders for criminal prosecution.
In 2013, Nicolás Maduro was elected President of Venezuela, as President Hugo
Chávez’s successor. The Maduro government has increased its intimidation, censorship, and
prosecution of its critics. Notably, in September 2013, Maduro withdrew from the American
Convention on Human Rights, leaving Venezuelans without access to the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights. Many of the challenges faced by Chávez, including violence, inflation, and
shortages of goods, have intensified under Maduro. It was in this context that mass protests
began January 2014. These initially non-violent demonstrations led to violence due to
involvement by armed pro-government gangs and colectivos that are loyal to Maduro. Since the
outbreak of protests, 3,716 Venezuelans have been arrested, some 2,006 are facing charges, and
there are 47 political prisoners in the country.
Among those still imprisoned is Leopoldo López Mendoza, a 43-year-old Venezuelan
opposition leader who is being held in Centro Nacional de Procesados Militares (National
Center for Accused Soldiers), also known as Ramo Verde Prison. López is the founder and
National Coordinator of the political party Voluntad Popular (Popular Will). He is married to
Lilian Tintori, with whom he has two children.
López received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College, where he graduated
cum laude in 1993. He continued his education at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School
of Government, where he received a Master in Public Policy degree in 1996. In 1992, López cofounded the non-profit civil association Primero Justicia. From 1996 to 1999, he worked in
Venezuela as an economic analyst for the Coordinación de Planificación de Petróleos de
Venezuela S.A. (Department of Planning of Petroleum of Venezuela) (“PDVSA”).
López first entered politics in 2000 when he and other prominent young leaders cofounded the new political party Primero Justicia. Later that year, López was elected mayor of
the Chacao Municipality of Caracas. He quickly became popular for reforming the public health
system and building new public places. He was also known for his transparent policies,
reduction of crime, and eradication of poverty. When he left office in 2008, he held a 92%
approval rating and was ranked as the world’s third best mayor by the World Mayor Project. In
3
2002, López participated with other civil society leaders in protests. López was not a supporter
of the coup and he did not sign the Act Constituting the Government of Democratic Transition
and National Unity (“Carmona Decree”), the document that attempted to oust Chávez and
dissolve the National Assembly and Supreme Court.
López served as Mayor of Chacao until 2008, when a disqualification from his running
for office imposed by the Government went into effect. His ban ended on December 12, 2014.
If not for the ban, López had planned to challenge the United Socialist Party to become Mayor of
Caracas in November 2008. Polls at that time showed that he stood to receive between 65 and
70% of the vote had he been allowed to run.
After leaving office in 2008, López was named a “Most Innovative People” honoree by
Future Capitals. In that same year he founded Voluntad Popular, a democratic movement
dedicated to social, economic, political, and human-rights progress for all Venezuelans. López
was Voluntad Popular’s presidential candidate in 2012 before he backed Henrique Capriles after
the Venezuelan Supreme Court refused to overturn López’s political ban. Currently, López acts
as the National Coordinator of Voluntad Popular, and is widely seen as a major leader of the
opposition movement. At a series of peaceful protests this year, López gave speeches calling for
non-violent, democratic change in Venezuela, in accordance with its Constitution. Despite his
repeated emphasis on urging a transition through non-violence and adherence to the Constitution,
on February 12, 2014, the Government issued a warrant for his arrest claiming that his goal was
to overthrow the Government through violent means.
The charges against López were for conspiracy, incitement to commit crimes, public
intimidation, setting fire to a public building, damage to public property, causing serious injury,
premeditated aggravated homicide, attempted premeditated aggravated homicide, and terrorism.
Given the serious charges against him and current political climate, López went into temporary
hiding. Later, on February 18, López peacefully submitted himself for arrest to Venezuelan
military authorities and the charges for murder and terrorism were eventually dropped.
López’s ongoing detention is punishment for exercising his fundamental rights to
freedoms of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly, and to be elected and take part in
political affairs. In addition, his detention has also failed to meet international standards for due
process of law, including the right to be tried before an independent and impartial judiciary, the
right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, the right to have confidential attorney-client
communications, and the right to present evidence in one’s own defense. During over a year in
detention, López has spent six months in complete isolation with no access to his family.
Extended solitary confinement constitutes torture under the Convention Against Torture, to
which Venezuela is a party.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention, Secretary-General of the Organization of American States, Colombian President Juan
Manuel Santos, U.S. President Barack Obama, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Human
Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the New York Times and Washington Post editorial
boards have all called for López’s release. The magazine, Foreign Policy, counted López among
the Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2014 for “upending the tactics of Venezuela’s loyal opposition.”
4
I.
Biographical Information on Leopoldo López Mendoza
Leopoldo López Mendoza is a 43-year-old Venezuelan opposition leader being held in
Ramo Verde military prison on charges of inciting violence, arson, damage to property, and
conspiracy.2 López is the founder and National Coordinator of the political party Voluntad
Popular (“Popular Will”).3 He is married to Lilian Tintori, who received a B.A. in Early
Childhood and Elementary Education from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. She taught preschool for seven years and is both a recognized athlete and former TV host. They have two
children.4
Leopoldo López was born on April 29, 1971, in Caracas, Venezuela to a family with a
long history in Venezuelan politics.5 He received his Bachelor of Arts from Kenyon College,
where he graduated cum laude in 1993.6 He continued his education at Harvard University’s
John F. Kennedy School of Government where he received a Master in Public Policy degree in
1996.7 He also received an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Kenyon College in 2007.8 In
1992, while a student at Kenyon, López and a group of other students in his country “who were
2
Emilia Diaz-Struck, Nick Miroff, For Venezuela Opposition, Meeting with President Maduro Could Further
Expose Rifts, WASHINGTON POST, Apr. 9, 2014, available at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/for-venezuela-opposition-meeting-with-president-madurocould-further-expose-rifts/2014/04/09/82dca116-bb34-4cce-8a84-d7f885a82425_story.html; Rodrigo Ugarte,
Venezuela News 2014: Leopoldo López Finally Charged, Thousands Dress in Colors of National Flag to Protest,
LATIN POST, Apr. 6, 2014, available at http://www.latinpost.com/articles/10115/20140406/venezuela-news-2014leopoldo-lópez-finally-charged-thousands-dress-colors.htm; Venezuela Charges Opposition Leader, Protests Erupt,
YAHOO!, Apr. 5, 2014, available at http://news.yahoo.com/jailed-venezuelan-opposition-leader-formally-charged185439105.html.
3
See, e.g., Jim Wyss, Venezuela Government and Opposition to Begin Peace Talks Thursday on Live TV,
SACRAMENTO BEE, Apr. 15, 2014, available at http://www.sacbee.com/2014/04/09/6311031/venezuela-governmentand-opposition.html; Jeffrey Tayler, José Orozco, Leopoldo López, the Charismatic Face of Venezuela’s Opposition,
BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK, Feb. 20, 2014, available at http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-0220/leopoldo-lópez-the-venezuela-oppositions-new-hero [hereinafter Leopoldo López, the Charismatic Face of
Venezuela’s Opposition]; AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, Venezuela: Trial of Opposition Leader an Affront to Justice
and Free Assembly, (Feb. 19, 2014), http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/news-item/venezuela-trial-of-oppositionleader-an-affront-to-justice-and-free-assembly; Leopoldo López is a Venezuelan Politician and Democratic Activist,
FREE LEOPOLDO, available at http://www.freeleopoldo.com/about_leopoldo.
4
Eric Martin, Corina Pons, ‘Volcano of Energy’ Lopez Who Rode Shot-Up Car Roils in Venezuela, BLOOMBERG,
Feb. 22, 2014, available at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-21/-volcano-of-energy-lopez-who-rode-shotup-car-roils-venezuela.html [hereinafter ‘Volcano of Energy’ Lopez Who Rode Shot-Up Car Roils in Venezuela];
Jonathan Watts, Venezuelan Opposition Leader, Leopoldo López, Tells His Allies to Keep Fighting, THE GUARDIAN,
Feb. 21, 2014, available at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/21/leopoldo-lopez-venezuela-oppositionleader-popular [hereinafter Leopoldo López, tells his allies to keep fighting].
5
Leopoldo López Hands Himself To Venezuelan Authorities: 6 Things to Know About Opposition Leader Making
Nicolás Maduro Sweat, LATIN TIMES, Feb. 18, 2014, available at http://www.latintimes.com/leopoldo-lopez-handshimself-venezuelan-authorities-6-things-know-about-opposition-leader-making [hereinafter Leopoldo López Hands
Himself To Venezuelan Authorities].
6
5 Things To Know About Venezuela’s Protest Leader, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO, Feb. 20, 2014.
7
Id.; Leopoldo López, the Charismatic Face of Venezuela’s Opposition, supra note 3; Venezuelan opposition leader,
Leopoldo López, tells his allies to keep fighting, supra note 4.
8
Leopoldo López Hands Himself To Venezuelan authorities, supra note 5.
5
motivated by their desire to reform the legal system in Venezuela” founded the civil association
Primero Justicia (“Justice First”).9
López returned to Venezuela to work as an analyst for the Office of the Chief Economist
of Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (“PDVSA”) from 1996 to 1999.10 He also taught as an
economics professor at the Universidad Católica Andres Bello in 2000 and 2001.11
Leopoldo López first entered politics in 2000 when he and other young prominent leaders
transitioned their civil association Primero Justicia into a new political party.12 Later that year,
he was elected mayor of the Chacao Municipality of Caracas at age 28.13 He quickly became
popular for reforming the public health system and building new public spaces.14 He was also
known for his transparent policies, reduction of crime, and eradication of poverty.15 In 2000, he
won 51% of the vote; by 2004, 81% of the electorate voted for him.16 When he left office in
2008, he held a 92% approval rating and was ranked as the world’s third best mayor by the
World Mayor Project.17 Furthermore, in 2007 and 2008, Transparency International recognized
López for having the most transparent municipality in Venezuela.18 During his tenure as mayor,
López oversaw a budget ranging from Bs. 47.9 billion (U.S. $ 73.2 million) in 2000 to Bs. 376.2
billion in 2007 (U.S. $ 94 million)19 and an employee base ranging from 2,800 to 3,000.
9
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Venezuela: The First Justice Party, U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY, Sep. 22,
2003, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/403dd2248.html.
10
Rafael Romo, The Face of Venezuela’s Opposition, CNN, Feb. 22, 2014, available at
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/21/world/americas/profile-leopoldo-lopez/ [hereinafter The Face of Venezuela’s
Opposition]; Oficina del Alcalde, CHACAO, available at
http://web.archive.org/web/20071231194747/http://www.chacao.gov.ve/alcalde/oficinadetail.asp?Id=18 [hereinafter
Oficina del Alcade].
11
Id.
12
See generally Peter Wilson, The Poster Boy, FOREIGN POLICY, Feb. 24, 2014, available at
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/02/25/the_poster_boy [hereinafter The Poster Boy]; ‘Volcano of
Energy’ Lopez Who Rode Shot-Up Car Roils Venezuela, supra note 4; Leopoldo López, the Charismatic Face of
Venezuela’s Opposition, supra note 3.
13
The Poster Boy, supra note 12.
14
Venezuelan opposition leader, Leopoldo López, tells his allies to keep fighting, supra note 4.
15
Adam Williams, Inter-American Court Hears Leopoldo López Case, INFOSURHOY, Aug. 3, 2011, available at
http://infosurhoy.com/en_GB/articles/saii/features/main/2011/03/08/feature-02 [hereinafter Inter-American Court
Hears Leopoldo López Case].
16
El Chavisomo Formaliza los Cargos contra López: Incitación a la Violencia y Asociación para Delinquir,
INFOBAE, Apr. 4, 2014, available at http://www.infobae.com/2014/04/04/1554977-el-chavismo-formaliza-loscargos-contra-lopez-incitacion-la-violencia-y-asociacion-delinquir; Charles Upton Sahm, Broken and Divided, CITY
JOURNAL, Mar. 27, 2014, available at http://www.city-journal.org/2014/eon0327cs.html; Jackson Diehl, The Rival
Chávez Won’t Permit, THE WASHINGTON POST, Jun. 30, 2008, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2008/06/29/AR2008062901480.html [hereinafter The Rival Chávez Won’t Permit]; Oficina del
Alcade, supra note 10.
17
Tann vom Hove, Helen Zille, Mayor of Cape Town, Wins the 2008 World Mayor Prize, WORLD MAYOR, Oct. 14,
2008, available at http://www.worldmayor.com/contest_2008/world-mayor-2008-results.html; Inter-American
Court Hears Leopoldo López Case, supra note 15.
18
OSLO FREEDOM FORUM, available at https://www.oslofreedomforum.com/speakers/leopoldo_lopez.html
[hereinafter Oslo Freedom Forum].
19
In 2008, Venezuela switched over to a new currency, the bolivar fuerte (Bs.F). In 2008 the budget of Chacao was
Bs.F 430,556,391.
6
In 2002, López participated in public protests, which came days before the failed coup
against former President Hugo Chávez.20 At no point was López ever a proponent of the coup,
nor was he allied with the business leaders who led it. During the coup, however, López
received—along with the Mayor of Baruta (which was then Henrique Capriles)—a detention
order and search warrant for the Minister of the Interior and Justice,21 Ramon Rodriguez Chacin.
Judge Monica Fernandez of the 39th Control Court issued this detention order. The charges
against Rodriguez were for possession of illegal war weapons, and illegally possessing a vehicle
that belonged to the Ministry of the Interior and Justice. While López supported democratic and
constitutional change rather than the coup, he had no authority as a municipal mayor to challenge
a detention order from a judge and it was also immediately apparent that Rodriguez’s life was in
danger and that detaining him briefly would provide him with protection. López did not sign the
Carmona Decree, which was the document that attempted to oust President Hugo Chávez and
dissolve the National Assembly and Supreme Court.22
Six months after the attempted coup, protesters used Chacao’s Plaza Francia in the postcoup general strike.23 However, Mayor López had no role in organizing the strike. In
Venezuela, under Article 68 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,
protesters may use public space without a permit.24 In the aftermath of the coup, all those critical
of the government were targeted, but López was “the object of a full-out campaign.”25 In
February 2006, López was held hostage for six hours at a university auditorium where he was
speaking.26 Later that year, in March, his bodyguard was shot and killed in what appeared to be
an attempt on López’s life.27
Leopoldo López served as the Mayor of Chacao until 2008, when his disqualification
from running for office—along with at least 272 other Venezuelan public officials, a vast
majority of whom were from the opposition—came into effect.28 Leopoldo López’s ban ended
on December 12, 2014. As these were administrative decisions, López was never tried nor
convicted of any crime.29
20
Chris Kraul, A Lightning Rod for Venezuela’s Political Strife, L.A. TIMES, July 19, 2006, available at
http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jul/19/world/fg-venezuela19 [hereinafter A Lightning Rod for Venezuela’s Political
Strife].
21
The Minister of the Interior and Justice is one of one of 25 ministers in Venezuela’s Executive Branch. Politics
and Government, EMBASSY OF THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZ., available at http://venezuela-us.org/politics/.
22
A Lightning Rod for Venezuela’s Political Strife, supra note 20.
23
Id.
24
See infra note 204.
25
A Lightning Rod for Venezuela’s Political Strife, supra note 20.
26
The Rival Chávez Won’t Permit, supra note 16; A Lightning Rod for Venezuela’s Political Strife, supra note 20.
27
Id.
28
Venezuelan Politics Contaminate Mercosur Parliament Session, MERCOPRESS, Aug. 19, 2008, available at
http://en.mercopress.com/2008/08/19/venezuelan-politics-contaminate-mercosur-parliament-session. Other news
outlets reported up to 400 were barred. See, e.g. James Ingham, Testing Times Ahead for Chávez, BBC NEWS, Jun.
27, 2008, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7471817.stm.
29
Case of López Mendoza v. Venezuela, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No.
233 (Sep. 1, 2011), available at http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_233_ing.pdf; See also,
Leopoldo Lopez: Venezuela’s Maverick Opposition Leader, BBC NEWS, Feb. 19, 2014, available at
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26238612 [hereinafter Leopoldo Lopez: Venezuela’s Maverick
Opposition Leader].
7
If not for the ban, López had planned to challenge members of the Venezuela United
Socialist Party (PSUV) to become Mayor of Caracas in November 2008.30 Polls at the time
showed that López stood to receive between 65% and 70% of the vote had he been allowed to
run.31 The mayoral seat of Caracas is the second largest political office after the presidency, and
was widely considered the second most powerful political position in Venezuela until the
position was largely stripped of power following the 2008 election of another opposition leader,
Antonio Ledezma.32
At the time of the ban, López was also viewed as a serious contender for the 2012
presidential election. A 2008 poll conducted by Keller & Associates showed that López led
President Chávez 43% to 41% nationally.33 This marked the first time that President Chávez
trailed in a poll since his election 12 years prior.34 However, due to the political ban, López
threw his support for president to another opposition candidate, Henrique Capriles, in January
2012.35
Leopoldo López brought his political ban before the Inter-American Commission of
Human Rights in 2008.36 As discussed further below in Appendix I, the Inter-American Court
ruled in 2011 that by stripping him of his ability to run for public office, Venezuela violated
López’s rights and ordered that his ability to run for office be restored.37 However, the Supreme
Tribunal of Justice of Venezuela (Tribunal Supremo de Justicia or Supreme Court) refused to
adhere to this ruling.38
After leaving political office, López was named a Most Innovative People honoree by
Future Capitals, alongside other world leaders such as Stephen Hawking and Bill Gates.39 In that
same year he founded Voluntad Popular.40 Voluntad Popular defines itself as: “a plural and
democratic movement organized in Popular Networks for the purposes of social and political
action…[whose]…commitment is to progress, which…[is defined]…. as conquering the social,
30
Adam Williams, Inter-American Human Rights Court Hears Leopoldo López Case, INFOSURHOY, Aug. 3, 2011,
available at http://infosurhoy.com/en_GB/articles/saii/features/main/2011/03/08/feature-02 [hereinafter InterAmerican Human Rights Court Hears Leopoldo López Case].
31
Id.
32
See generally John Otis, Stripped of His Powers, Caracas’ Mayor Still Tries to Run a City, GLOBAL POST, Aug.
12, 2011, available at http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/venezuela/110811/PoliticsVenezuela-Oppression-Chávez.
33
Inter-American Human Rights Court Hears Leopoldo López Case, supra note 30.
34
Id.
35
See generally ‘Volcano of Energy’ Lopez Who Rode Shot-Up Car Roils Venezuela, supra note 4.
36
Inter-American Human Rights Court Hears Leopoldo López Case, supra note 30.
37
Case of López Mendoza, supra note 29, at 80; See also, Top Court in Venezuela Upholds Ban on Chávez
Foe, CNN, Oct. 17, 2008, available at http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/17/world/americas/venezuela-lopez/
[hereinafter Top Court in Venezuela Upholds Ban on Chávez Foe].
38
Top Court in Venezuela Upholds Ban on Chávez Foe, supra note 37.
39
Press Release, Global Innovators Honored at 50-Nation Future Capitols Summit in Abu Dhabi, FUTURE
CAPITOLS, Jan. 14, 2009, available at http://www.futurecapitals.org/08/media.asp?cid=1&prid=5.
40
Oslo Freedom Forum, supra note 18.
8
economic, political, and human rights of each Venezuelan.”41 Leopoldo López was Voluntad
Popular’s presidential candidate in 2012 before he backed Henrique Capriles after the
Venezuelan Supreme Court refused to overturn López’s political ban. Currently López acts as
the National Coordinator of Voluntad Popular. He has 3.45 million Twitter followers42 and is
now widely seen as a major leader of the political opposition.43 In November 2014, the
magazine, Foreign Policy, counted López among the Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2014 for
“upending the tactics of Venezuela’s loyal opposition.”44
II.
Background Context and Current Situation in Venezuela
From 1999 until 2013, Hugo Chávez served as President of Venezuela.45 Following
Chavismo, a left-wing political ideology,46 Chávez enacted a series of social and economic
measures—termed the Bolivarian Revolution—aimed at improving quality of life for
Venezuelans.47 Chávez’s policies included nationalization, social welfare programs (known as
Bolivarian Missions), and opposition to neoliberal economics (particularly the International
Monetary Fund and World Bank).48 Chávez sought to build a communal state grounded in selfgovernment institutions such as community councils and communes.49
Despite these lofty ambitions, Chávez’s presidency was characterized by corruption,50
propaganda,51 intimidation of the media,52 dramatic concentration of power,53 and disregard for
41
Quiénes Somos, VOLUNTAD POPULAR, available at http://www.voluntadpopular.com/index.php/quienessomos?view=featured (translated from Spanish).
42
Leopoldo López, https://twitter.com/leopoldolopez.
43
Leopoldo López, the Charismatic Face of Venezuela’s Opposition, supra note 3.
44
Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2014, FOREIGN POLICY, Nov 2014, available at
http://globalthinkers.foreignpolicy.com/#challengers/detail/lopez.
45
Ami Sedghi, How did Venezuela change under Hugo Chávez?, THE GUARDIAN, Mar. 6, 2013, available at
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/oct/04/venezuela-hugo-Chavez-election-data (noting that Hugo
Chávez assumed office in 1999 and providing key indicators that show how Venezuela changed since Chávez
assumed office).
46
Larisa Epatko, In Venezuela, Will ‘Chavismo’ Last Without Hugo Chávez?”, PBS, Apr. 12, 2013, available at
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/venezuelas-chavismo/ (explaining that Hugo Chávez was “the force behind
‘Chavismo,’ a left-wing political ideology that favors nationalization and social welfare programs over free market
development”).
47
Socialism after Chávez: Political Divisions Deepen Amid Unrest in Venezuela, PBS NEWSHOUR, Apr. 18, 2014,
available at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/socialism-Chávez-political-divisions-deepen-amid-unrest-venezuela/
[hereinafter Socialism After Chávez] (explaining that Hugo Chávez called his plan Bolivarian socialism. Its goals
were social justice, empowering the poor with expanded government services and redistributing Venezuela’s vast oil
riches to finance it).
48
Arvind Sivaramakrishnan, Hugo Chávez: Death of a Socialist, THE HINDU, Mar. 19, 2013, available at
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/world/hugo-chvez-death-of-a-socialist/article4481169.ece (explaining
Hugo Chávez’s social programs and his wish that the International Monetary Fund and World Bank would
“disappear”).
49
Dario Azzellini, NORTH AMERICAN CONGRESS ON LATIN AMERICA, The Communal State: Communal Councils,
Communes, and Workplace Democracy (Summer 2013), https://nacla.org/article/communal-state-communalcouncils-communes-and-workplace-democracy.
50
Gustavo Coronel, CATO INSTITUTE, The Corruption of Democracy in Venezuela (Mar. 2008),
http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/corruption-democracy-venezuela.
9
human-rights protections.54 According to Human Rights Watch, during his presidency Chávez
effectively neutralized the judiciary as an independent branch of government.55 Chávez’s
government carried out a political takeover of Venezuela’s Supreme Court, dramatically
expanded the government’s ability to control the content of the country’s broadcast and news
media, and sought to block international organizations from monitoring the country’s human
rights practices.56 Further, the government price controls put in place by Chávez in 2002, which
initially aimed to reduce the prices of basic goods, caused inflation and shortages of basic
goods.57 Additionally, the murder rate under Chávez’s administration quadrupled, making
Venezuela one of the most violent countries in the world.58 Taken together, these factors
contributed to widespread discontent among the Venezuelan population.
While Venezuela under Chávez initially enjoyed vibrant public debate on political
issues, starting in 2009, several prominent opposition leaders were targeted for criminal
prosecution; without independent courts they had little chance of a fair trial.60 Chávez and his
followers increasingly intimidated, censored, and prosecuted Venezuelans who were critical of
the president or hindered his political agenda.61 According to Human Rights Watch:
59
During the Chávez years, many Venezuelans continued to criticize the
government, but the prospect of retribution—in the form of arbitrary or abusive
state action—forced journalists and human rights defenders to weigh the
consequences of disseminating information and opinions critical of the
51
Joel D. Hirst, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, The Bolivarian Alliance and the Hugo Chávez Propaganda
Machine (Nov. 3, 2010), http://www.cfr.org/venezuela/bolivarian-alliance-hugo-Chávez-propagandamachine/p23307.
52
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2012 (Jan. 22, 2012),
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/wr2012.pdf.
53
Human Rights Watch, Venezuela: Chávez’s Authoritarian Legacy (Mar. 5, 2013), http://www.hrw.org/news/
2013/03/05/venezuela-Chávez-s-authoritarian-legacy [hereinafter Chávez’s Authoritarian Legacy].
54
Chávez’s Authoritarian Legacy, supra note 53; Venezuela Violates Human Rights, OAS commission reports,
CNN, Feb. 24, 2010, available at http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/02/24/venezuela.human.rights/
(explaining that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said in a report that Venezuela routinely violates
human rights, often intimidating or punishing citizens based on their political beliefs).
55
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2009 (Jan. 14, 2009), http://www.hrw.org/en/world-report-2009.
56
Chávez’s Authoritarian Legacy, supra note 53; Human Rights Watch, Rigging the Rule of Law: Judicial
Independence Under Siege in Venezuela (Jun. 17, 2004), http://www.hrw.org/node/12011/section/1.
57
Matthew Walter, Chávez Price Controls Mean Record Oil Fails to Prevent Shortage, BLOOMBERG, May 23, 2008,
available at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a6qMqmU1dCeM (describing the price
controls and shortages that were experienced during Chávez’s presidency and the public discontent that they
caused).
58
Manuel Rueda, How Did Venezuela Become So Violent?, FUSION, Jan. 8, 2014, available at
http://fusion.net/leadership/story/venezuela-violent-iraq-365361 (noting that under Chávez’s government, Venezuela
became one of the world’s most violent countries; the country’s murder rate has increased dramatically since 1999,
the year Chávez took office, and has continued to climb under Nicolás Maduro).
59
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2008 (Mar. 31, 2008), http://www.hrw.org/legacy/wr2k8/ [hereinafter World
Report 2008].
60
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2010 (Jan. 31, 2010), http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2010 [hereinafter
World Report 2010].
61
Chávez’s Authoritarian Legacy, supra note 53.
10
government, and undercut the ability of judges to adjudicate politically sensitive
cases.62
During the Chávez years, thousands of opposition leaders and supporters were subjected to
political persecution, ranging from loss of government jobs to legal action in the country’s
courts.63
Another individual targeted by the Chávez regime was María Lourdes Afiuni, a judge
who was imprisoned in December 2009 after one of her rulings angered President Chávez.64
Afiuni’s offense was her having ordered the release of Eligio Cedeño, a banker who was a
political prisoner who had been detained for almost three years without trial.65 In ruling in
Cedeño’s favor, Afiuni had applied Venezuelan law and also cited to an opinion on Cedeño’s
case from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which found that he was being held in
violation of Venezuela’s international legal obligations.66 Nevertheless, three days after Afiuni’s
arrest, President Chávez demanded that she be imprisoned for thirty years.67 Widely considered
one of Venezuela’s highest-profile political prisoners,68 Afiuni was subsequently imprisoned in a
jail that also housed violent offenders she herself had sentenced.69 The Working Group declared
that she was arbitrarily detained, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
(IACHR) called for her to be tried or released.70 Afiuni was granted house arrest in February
2011 because of a serious medical condition.71 She was ultimately released from house arrest in
June 2013, but to comply with the conditions of her release, she must report to the court in
Caracas every 14 days and is banned from leaving the country without permission or speaking to
the media.72
Afiuni’s case is an illustrative example of the many individuals targeted by Chávez
during his presidency. On March 5, 2013, Hugo Chávez died of cancer73 and Nicolás Maduro,
who was vice-president at the time, took Chávez’s place.74 Maduro, Chávez’s successor,75
62
Id.
Criminals or Dissidents? THE ECONOMIST, Feb. 17, 2011, available at http://www.economist.com/node/18184396
[hereinafter Criminals or dissidents?] (detailing the repercussions faced by dissidents for defying Chávez).
64
Id.
65
Id.
66
Criminals or Dissidents?, supra note 63; Eligio Cedeño v. Government of Venezuela, Opinion No. 10/2009,
adopted 28 May 2009, ¶ 53.
67
Criminals or Dissidents?, supra note 63.
68
Venezuela Ends House Arrest of Judge Maria Afiuni, BBC, Jun. 14, 2013, available at
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-22916391 [hereinafter Venezuela ends house arrest] (noting that
opposition leaders consider Maria Afiuni to be among Venezuela’s highest-profile political prisoners and explaining
that she was released from house arrest in June 2013).
69
Criminals or Dissidents?, supra note 63.
70
Id.
71
Venezuela Ends House Arrest, supra note 68.
72
Id.
73
Socialism after Chávez, supra note 47.
74
Catherine E. Shoichet and Dana Ford, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Dies, CNN, Mar. 5, 2013, available at
http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/05/world/americas/venezuela-Chávez-main/ [hereinafter Hugo Chávez Dies] (noting
that Hugo Chávez died on Mar. 5, 2013, and elections were held 30 days later, with Nicolás Maduro assuming the
presidency in the interim).
63
11
subsequently narrowly defeated Henrique Capriles in Venezuela’s 2013 presidential election;
gaining 50.6% of the vote compared to the 55.1% Chávez had received in the previous election.76
According to Human Rights Watch, Chávez’s tradition of “accumulati[ng] … power in the
executive branch and erod[ing] … human rights guarantees”77 has continued under Maduro,
which has “enabled [his] government to [similarly] intimidate, censor, and prosecute its
critics.”78 Notably, in September 2013, the Maduro government’s decision to withdraw from the
American Convention on Human Rights took effect, leaving Venezuelans without access to the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights, an international tribunal that had protected their rights
for decades in a wide array of cases.79 The Maduro government also inherited Chávez’s legacy
of a lack of judicial independence and impartiality, with Members of the country’s Supreme
Court continuing to openly reject the principle of separation of powers, publicly pledging their
commitment to advance the Government’s political agenda, and repeatedly ruling in favor of the
Government.80
It was in this political climate that a series of protests and political demonstrations broke
out in Venezuela in early February 2014.81 The protests erupted largely as a result of high levels
of violence,82 corruption, inflation (the annualized inflation figure topped 57% in February),83
and scarcity of basic goods in the country.84 As under Chávez, these dynamics bred profound
75
Human Rights Watch, World Report 2014 (Jan. 21, 2014),
http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/wr2014_web_0.pdf. [hereinafter World Report 2014].
76
Venezuela Gives Chávez Protégé Narrow Victory, NEW YORK TIMES, Apr. 14, 2013, available at
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/world/americas/venezuelans-vote-for-successor-toChávez.html?pagewanted=all (noting that in an unexpectedly close race, Nicolás Maduro, Hugo Chávez’s
handpicked political heir, was chosen by Venezuelans to serve the remainder of Chávez’s six-year term as
president); Maduro Wins Venezuela Presidency, USA TODAY, Apr. 15, 2013, available at
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/04/14/venezuela-election-maduro-capriles/2081677/ (Noting that
Venezuelan officials say Nicolás Maduro defeated Henrique Capriles by only about 300,000 votes; the margin was
50.8% to 49.1%); Chris Kraul, In Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Reelection Raises Unity Questions, LOS ANGELES TIMES,
Oct. 8, 2012, available at http://articles.latimes.com/2012/oct/08/world/la-fg-venezuela-Chávez-20121009 (noting
that in Venezuela’s October 2012 presidential election, Hugo Chávez had 8.04 million votes, or 55.1%, to Capriles
6.46 million votes, or 44.3%).
77
World Report 2014, supra note 75.
78
Id.
79
Id.
80
Id.; see also infra section B(1)(a).
81
Amnesty International, Venezuela: Political Spiral of Violence a Threat to the Rule of Law (Mar. 31, 2014),
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/news-item/venezuela-political-spiral-of-violence-a-threat-to-the-rule-of-law.
82
Socialism after Chávez, supra note 47 (noting that the United Nations says Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro has
the second-highest murder rate in the world).
83
Venezuela Hikes Minimum Wage 30 percent Amid High Inflation, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, Apr. 29, 2014, available at
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-venezuela-salaries-20140429,0,6231814.story (noting that
Venezuela’s annualized inflation figure topped 57 percent in February 2014).
84
Anatoly Kurmanaev and Corina Pons, Venezuela Inflation Hits 16-Year High as Shortages Rise, BLOOMBERG,
Nov. 7, 2013, available at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-07/venezuela-inflation-hits-16-year-high-asshortages-rise.html (noting that Venezuela’s annual inflation rate rose more than expected to 54.3 percent in October
2013, the fastest pace in as many as 16 years, with the scarcity rate persistently remaining around 20 percent);
Corina Pons and Jose Orozco, Venezuela Planning Third Dollar Supply System as Scarcity Rises, BLOOMBERG, Feb.
11, 2014 (noting that the Venezuela Central Bank’s scarcity index reached 28 percent in January, meaning that one
in four basic goods was out of stock at any given time).
12
dissatisfaction with the Government among Venezuelans across the social spectrum.85 When the
protests began, Maduro’s approval rating was 46.8%, with those Venezuelans polled citing
shortages of consumer goods as a major concern.86 Armed pro-government gangs loyal to
Maduro’s government, on the other hand, have acted as community enforcers defending
revolutionary socialism.87 These pro-government militia are often referred to as colectivos, a
term also used in Venezuela to refer to a wide range of social organizations that support and, in
some cases, help to implement the Government’s policies.88 As described below, non-violent
protests this year have turned violent because of involvement by armed pro-government gangs
and colectivos.
III.
Protests of January 2014 to Present
The recent protests in Venezuela began in early January 2014 as an outcry against
Venezuela’s crime rate in the aftermath of the murder of Venezuelan actress and former Miss
Venezuela, Monica Spear, along with her husband.89 Their five-year-old daughter, who was also
in the car, was shot in the leg but survived.90
On January 23, Leopoldo López, María Corina Machado, Antonio Ledezma and other
prominent leaders held a press conference during which the three opposition leaders presented a
platform labeled “La Salida” (“the Exit”).91 This political platform highlighted the record
inflation (reportedly 56.2% in December 2013), Venezuela’s high murder rate, and shortage of
basic food items.92 In short, La Salida is a political strategy to use democratic and constitutional
means to find solutions to the political and economic crisis. The strategy presented was as
follows, with each event coming only if the previous failed: a call for the resignation of President
85
Socialism After Chávez, supra note 47; Inside the Barrios, THE ECONOMIST, Mar. 22, 2014, available at
http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21599382-support-among-poor-government-nicol-s-maduro-conditionalinside-barrios [hereinafter Inside the Barrios] (explaining that colectivos are armed civilian gangs loyal to the
government that act as community enforcers).
86
Support for Venezuela’s Maduro Drops to 37 Percent: Report, REUTERS, May 5, 2014, available at
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/05/us-venezuela-politics-idUSBREA440HH20140505 (noting that
Maduro’s approval rate was 37 percent in April, 2014, a drop from 46.8 percent in February of that year).
87
Inside the Barrios, supra note 85; Daniel Wallis, Venezuela Violence Puts Focus on Militant ‘Colectivo’ Groups,
REUTERS, Feb. 13, 2014, available at http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/13/us-venezuela-protests-colectivosidUSBREA1C1YW20140213 (explaining that colectivos “view themselves as the defenders of revolutionary
socialism but are denounced by opponents as thugs”).
88
Human Rights Watch, Punished for Protesting: Rights Violations in Venezuela’s Streets, Detention Centers, and
Justice System (May 2014), http://www.hrw.org/node/125192 [hereinafter Punished for Protesting].
89
Isben Martinez, Chaos, Chavismo and Telenovelas, N.Y. TIMES, Apr. 8, 2014, available at
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/09/opinion/chaos-chavismo-and-telenovelas.html?_r=0 [hereinafter Chaos,
Chavismo, and Telenovelas]; Jeffrey Taylor; What the Heck is Going on in Venezuela?, BLOOMBERG
BUSINESSWEEK, Feb. 18, 2014, available at http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-18/what-the-heck-isgoing-on-in-venezuela-could-the-maduro-regime-fall.
90
Chaos, Chavismo, and Telenovelas, supra note 89; What the Heck is Going on in Venezuela, supra note 89.
91
See generally What Lies Behind the Protests in Venezuela?, BBC NEWS, Mar. 27, 2014, available at
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26335287; Leopoldo Lopez: Venezuela’s Maverick Opposition
Leader, supra note 29.
92
See generally Venezuela Forces ‘Clear’ Protest City of San Cristobal, BBC NEWS, Mar. 31, 2014, available at
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26815745; What Lies Behind the Protests in Venezuela?, supra note
91.
13
Maduro, a recall referendum under Article 72 of the Venezuela Constitution, a constitutional
assembly, and as a last resort, a constitutional amendment.93
Thus, López presented La Salida as the means for achieving his overall aim, which is to
“rise up against oppression, the essence [of which is that] the peoples have … [this] … right
when faced with a government that seeks imposition, authoritarianism, anti-democracy,
corruption, and inefficiency as a form of government.”94 Not to be confused with violent
confrontation, López clearly defined his vision:
And what does rising up mean? So that they won’t misinterpret us and say words
that we are not saying, an ‘uprising/revolt’ [‘alzamiento’] means first and
foremost the rising to consciousness, the rising up of our fighting spirit, the rising
up to our vocation for change. The uprising that today, January 23rd, we must
demand, is that a people can take to the streets, ever since people have been
people, ever since history has been history, this right has existed for people to say
‘we want to change...’ [And] today more than ever we encourage the vocation for
a peaceful struggle, popular, constitutional, and democratic.95
Moreover, López continued in his speech to describe his views about the problems with the
current Government:
Today in Venezuela there is a corrupt upper echelon of leadership. Today in
Venezuela there is an elite that has hijacked the Venezuelan State, an elite that has
become multimillionaires, an elite that behind the backs of the people has robbed
it of all of the wealth belonging to the Venezuelans, and that elite that today is
governing and that refers to themselves as revolutionaries, that refers to
themselves as the agents of change, are the ones responsible for the ills endured
by our people, and it is for that reason that we are not going to renounce our right,
our sacrosanct right to say ‘enough, already!’, our sacrosanct right to say, as
Betancourt said back in the 1950s, that we will be in the streets, that we will
converge with the people, that we will converge with the strength of a people that
wants to change. And we know that this announcement will be presented by the
Government as a call to something different than the consolidation of democracy.
But we tell Venezuelans, let’s not get sucked into deceptions, that it does not
matter to us how the Government wants to interpret what we are saying, because
for us what is important is the Venezuelan people, the people that want change,
the people that want a better Venezuela, the people that today are frustrated, that
have been driven to despair, that appear to not see a way out of the disaster to
which we are subjected today. We tell Venezuelans that it is possible, it is
93
See generally Anti-Maduro Protests Persist in Venezuela, Dozens Jailed, REUTERS, Feb. 14, 2014, available at
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/14/us-venezuela-protests-idUSBREA1D19J20140214 [hereinafter AntiMaduro Protests Persist in Venezuela, Dozens Jailed].
94
See Appendix II, Speech by López at Political Assembly in Plaza Brión—January 23, 2014 [hereinafter López Jan
23. Speech].
95
López Jan. 23 Speech, supra note 94 (emphasis added).
14
possible to have a better Venezuela, it is possible but we need you, we need you,
sister, we need you, brother, we need you, but first and foremost with the
conviction, with the conviction of your soul, with the conviction of your actions.
[…]
[And] what is the exit to this disaster? We believe that calling for a political exit
is not only done with political organizations; it is not done only in a restricted
space. The discussion regarding where Venezuela needs to go needs to convene a
people, we have to listen to the Venezuelan people, we have to debate, we have to
incorporate the Venezuelan people’s sentiments of frustration and vocation for
change. It is for that reason that we want to hold these street assemblies
throughout the nation, in the cities, in the towns, in the neighborhoods, in the
developments, we are going to debate this, the exit. And what is the exit that we
are proposing? We are aware that the exit must be, first and foremost, popular,
popular with the people … Secondly, a democratic exit, and thirdly, an exit within
the Constitution. The Constitution offers us various tools and we will debate with
the people which of these tools is the most appropriate, which of those tools can
channel us toward a change as soon as possible, toward the most profound kind of
change, the most democratic, and that enable us to make progress toward a better
Venezuela. 96
On February 2, public assemblies took place throughout the country to discuss La Salida.
López, Machado, and Ledezma participated in the assembly in Caracas along with student
leaders. During this assembly, the decision was made to support the call for a rally on February
12.
An independent set of protests began on February 4 at the University of the Andes in the
western city of San Cristóbal, Táchira, where students demanded increased security after the
alleged rape of a female student on February 2.97 The protests in San Cristóbal resulted in a
crackdown by the Government and dozens of student leaders were imprisoned.98 This led to
demonstrations throughout Venezuela calling for the students’ release.99 Gabriela Arellano, a
student leader from Los Andes University, and Juan Requenses, a student leader from the Central
University of Venezuela, called for a protest in Caracas to be held on February 12.
96
López Jan. 23 Speech, supra note 94.
Venezuela Charges Opposition Leader, Protests Erupt, YAHOO!, Apr. 5, 2014, available at
http://news.yahoo.com/jailed-venezuelan-opposition-leader-formally-charged-185439105.html; Venezuela Forces
‘Clear’ Protest City of San Cristobal, supra note 92; Venezuela Court Rejects Release of Opposition Leader,
YAHOO!, Mar. 28, 2014, available at http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-court-rejects-release-opposition-leader184521764.html; What Lies Behind the Protests in Venezuela?, supra note 91; Vivia Sequera, Did Attempted Rape
Ignite Venezuela’s National Protests?, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, Feb. 22, 2014, available at
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0222/Did-attempted-rape-ignite-Venezuela-s-nationalprotests.
98
Venezuela Forces ‘Clear’ Protest City of San Cristobal, supra note 92; What Lies Behind the Protests in
Venezuela?, supra note 91.
99
Id.
97
15
The February 12 protest in Caracas started at 10 am. Hundreds of thousands of protesters
converged on Plaza Venezuela, one of the main public squares in Caracas. López, Machado and
Ledezma were invited to attend and speak. February 12 was specifically chosen because it was
the 200th anniversary of the Battle of La Victoria, a battle where students played a prominent
role in the Venezuelan city of La Victoria’s resistance against attacks by the Spanish army
during Venezuela’s campaign for independence.100 February 12 is also designated as
Venezuela’s Youth Day.101 As he had done in his speech on January 23, López reaffirmed for
the attendees the need to work toward a democratic Venezuela through peaceful means:
This is a struggle by the people against the State… let us go out to walk with
conviction, with strength, assuming [the path of] non-violence. Our territory is
the street, our struggle is non-violent.102
After speeches by students and politicians, the crowd marched to the headquarters of the
Public Prosecutor in Parque Carabobo, where the office of Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz
is located, to submit a letter demanding the release of the arrested students. By about 1 pm, after
waiting for three hours, it became clear that the Public Prosecutor’s office would not accept the
letter, so López urged all the protesters to return home. At the same time, a rival march by
Maduro supporters was taking place. Again, López emphasized the need for non-violence:
[T]oday I want to highlight, I want to highlight that we have come peacefully, as
you can see. Here there is no vocation for violence. There is irreverence, yes,
there is also determination, but you in the media can emphasize that there has
been no violence. Now then, when is there violence? When they bring out the
law enforcement officers, when they bring out the police, the guards, and the
army, and when they bring out the colectivos that take their orders from the
Government, as occurred yesterday in Mérida when the Tupamaros fell heavily
on the students. Today we want to send a message to the soldiers, to the soldiers
of the Bolivarian Armed Forces, we want to send a message to the National
Guard, to the police officers, to the public prosecutors, and to the members of the
colectivos: Do not follow orders or instructions to destroy the people. You do not
have to repress the people. You must wear that uniform with valor and in
adherence to the Constitution and the law.103
100
Nicolás Lucca, Una Ola de Protestas, Represión y Detenciones Sacuden a Venezuela, EDITORIAL PERFIL SA,
available at http://www.perfil.com/internacional/Una-ola-de-protestas-represion-y-detenciones-sacuden-aVenezuela-20140211-0032.html.
101
What the Heck is Going on in Venezuela, supra note 89.
102
See Appendix II, Speech of López at the Rally at Plaza Venezuela—February 12, 2014 [hereinafter López Plaza
Venezuela Speech] (emphasis added).
103
See Appendix II, Speech of López at Rally Outside Office of the Attorney General—February 12, 2014
[hereinafter López Attorney General Speech] (emphasis added).
16
News reports confirmed that the rally was peaceful.104 However, a small group of
protesters stayed, when López, Machado, Ledezma, and the vast majority of protesters
dispersed.105 Of this small group, an even smaller number “threw rocks and chunks of concrete
at riot police, who responded with tear gas.”106 This group also “threw projectiles at the
headquarters of the National Prosecutor’s office, breaking windows on the second floor.”107
According to Human Rights Watch, “[a]ll available accounts from witnesses indicate that the
majority of protesters were peaceful, and those that engaged in violence or vandalism did not
carry firearms or use lethal force against security forces or third parties.”108 Police did nothing to
control the situation until their vehicles were set on fire.109 At that point, police rushed a small
park, “grabbing people indiscriminately, pummeling them, pushing them to the ground and
kicking them. Most of the protesters were gone by then, so many of those beaten by the police
were news photographers and cameramen.”110 In a different area the situation quickly turned
deadly when three protesters—two anti-government protesters and one government supporter—
were shot following the largely peaceful march.111 This happened at approximately 1:20 pm.
Again, the three opposition leaders had long departed the scene.112
Contrary to the Venezuelan Government’s claims that López incited violence,
photographs and videos released by the daily newspaper Últimas Noticias depict uniformed and
non-uniformed police agents opening fire on demonstrators who were marching towards them.113
As described above, reports suggest that pro-government gangs and colectivos also carried out
violence during the protests.114
At 8 pm that evening, López, Machado, and Ledezma held a press conference
denouncing the violence that occurred and calling once again for nonviolent action:
104
See generally William Neuman, Prominent Opposition Leader in Venezuela is Blamed for Unrest, N.Y. TIMES,
Feb. 13, 2014, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/14/world/americas/prominent-opposition-leader-invenezuela-is-blamed-for-unrest.html?_r=0 [hereinafter Prominent Opposition Leader in Venezuela is Blamed for
Unrest].
105
Id.
106
Id.
107
Id.
108
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, Venezuela: Violence Against Protesters, Journalists, (Feb. 21, 2014),
http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/02/21/venezuela-violence-against-protesters-journalists [hereinafter Venezuela:
Violence Against Protesters, Journalists].
109
Prominent Opposition Leader in Venezuela is Blame for Unrest, supra note 104
110
Id.
111
Venezuela Opposition Leader Barred from Capitol, USA TODAY, Apr. 1, 2014, available at
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/04/01/venezuela-opposition-lawmaker/7185043/; Venezuelan
Opposition Leader Leopoldo López Denied Bail, BBC NEWS, Mar. 28, 2014, available at
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-26793545 [hereinafter Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo
Lopez Denied Bail; What Lies Behind the Protests in Venezuela?, supra note 91.
112
See generally Prominent Opposition Leader in Venezuela is Blamed for Unrest, supra note 104 (“[A]fterward a
few hundred young people…stayed”).
113
Uniformado y Civiles Dispararon en Cadelaria el 12F, ÚLTIMAS NOTICIAS, Feb. 19, 2014, available at
http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/investigacion/video---uniformados-y-civiles-dispararon-encandel.aspx; Oscar Medina, Their Claims Were Not True, EL UNIVERSAL, Apr. 19, 2014, available at
http://english.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140419/their-claims-were-not-true [hereinafter Their Claims Were
Not True].
114
Punished for Protesting, supra note 88.
17
Those Venezuelans who came out throughout the nation did so courageously,
knowing that there were threats on the part of the Government, knowing that the
call we put out was a call to convene peacefully, non-violently. And that is the
way it was, the demonstration that today brought together thousands of
individuals in Plaza Venezuela. In that way we walked to the office of the
Attorney General: in peace, non-violently. We were there in that way at the office
of the Attorney General for several hours, protesting, demonstrating, but in peace
and non-violently; and yes, with irreverence in our thoughts and in our hearts, but
never with violence. … Know this, Mr. Maduro: regardless of what you do, this
that has begun will not stop until change is conquered in peace and democracy for
all Venezuelans.115
A year after the protests of February 12th and the situation in Venezuela has only
worsened. With inflation over 60 percent and the sharp decline of global oil prices, the economy
is set to shrink 7 percent in 2015.116 This desperate economic situation has resulted in
countrywide shortages of basic supplies, such as medicine, rice, sugar, and cooking oil.117 The
necessary rationing of staples has created a system of hours-long lines for groceries that are
managed by government security forces, transforming supermarkets into military zones.118 With
an approval rating of less than 25 percent as of March 2015, Maduro has grown even more
desperate to maintain his grip on power and has continued his authoritative practices.119 On
February 19, 2015, he publically approved of the arbitrary arrest of Caracas mayor, Antonio
Ledezma, saying he would be punished for trying to sow unrest in Venezuela.120 And on January
29, 2015, he approved of the Ministry of Defense’s decision to authorize the use of lethal force
against protestors in order to “prevent disorder, support the legitimately constituted authority,
and counter all aggression, immediately confronting it with the necessary measures.”121
115
See Appendix II, Words from Press Conference Where López Denounces Violence—February 12, 2014
(emphasis added).
116
Guy Taylor, Sliding Oil Prices Leave Socialist Venezuela on Brink of Financial Collapse, WASHINGTON TIMES,
Dec. 25, 2014, available at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/dec/25/oil-prices-push-venezuela-brinkeconomic-collapse/.
117
Mery Mogollon and Chris Kraul, Shortages, Inflation, and Long Lines have Venezuelans Grumbling, LA TIMES,
Jan. 24, 2015, available at http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-venezuela-economy-shortages20150123-story.html.
118
Ángela Bermúdez, In Venezuela, 2015 is full of rationing, long waits, and markets becoming militarized zones,
FOX NEWS LATINO, Jan. 15, 2015, available at http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2015/01/15/in-venezuela2015-is-full-rationing-long-waits-markets-becoming/.
119
Brianna Lee, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's Approval Rating Gets A Tiny Bump Amid Tensions With
US, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES, Mar. 25, 2015, available at http://www.ibtimes.com/venezuelan-presidentnicolas-maduros-approval-rating-gets-tiny-bump-amid-tensions-us-1859116.
120
Fabiola Sanchez and Hannah Dreier, Venezuela Mayor Antonio Ledezma Arrested, HUFFINGTON POST, Feb. 19,
2015, available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/19/venezuela-arrests-opposit_n_6716920.html.
121
Sabrina Martín, Venezuelan Army Can Shoot Protesters, Effective Immediately, PANAM POST, Jan. 29, 2015,
available at http://panampost.com/sabrina-martin/2015/01/29/venezuelan-army-can-shoot-protesters-effectiveimmediately/.
18
A.
Blame by Political Officials
President Maduro consistently referred disparagingly to López as “The Throne,” which is
meant to cast suspicion on López’s political ambitions.122 Over a year before López’s
imprisonment, President Maduro publicly announced, “[f]ormer Chacao Mayor Leopoldo López
has already polished … [his] … cell. It is just a matter of time. That fascist has done a lot of
damage to this country. Justice will come sooner or later.”123 On the night of February 12,
President Maduro claimed that the protests were part of “a planned coup d’état.”124
After the violence on February 12, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elías Jaua labeled López
as specifically responsible for the February 12 violence, and President Maduro continued to use
inflammatory language to mischaracterize López. Foreign Minister Jaua stated on television:
Leopoldo López directed a well-trained group of his followers toward the
National Prosecutor’s office, and once he had left the demonstration there began a
coordinated and massive attack … We can no longer tolerate that this group acts
with impunity, bathing the Venezuelan people with blood.125
Minister Jaua also characterized López as the “intellectual author” of the killings.126 President
Maduro described López and other opposition leaders as “right-wing fascists who plant seeds of
fear and violence” who have an “irrational, fascist-leaning attitude.”127 On the night of February
12, President Maduro declared, “I tell these fugitives from justice: give yourselves up! … They
should go behind bars.”128 And, while showing video and pictures of Leopoldo López, Maduro
continued, “There you have the face of fascism!”129 Diosdado Cabello, Speaker of the National
Assembly, tweeted López was a “fugitive” before stating, “You’re not going to escape,
coward.”130
President Maduro also greatly exaggerated the extent of damage that was done on
February 12. Even though the damage to public property consisted mainly of a few broken
windows, President Maduro claimed, “the demonstrators had destroyed the headquarters of the
122
Joshua Goodman, Leopoldo Lopez, Venezuelan Opposition Leader, Sought by Police After Protests, HUFFINGTON
POST, Feb. 16, 2014, available at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/16/leopoldo-lopez-_n_4798435.html.
123
Sea Ud. El Juez Parte I, VOLUNTAD POPULAR, Apr. 30, 2014, available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bK2S5YkWR4 [hereinafter Sea ud. El Juez Parte I, Voluntad Popular].
124
Prominent Opposition Leader in Venezuela is Blamed for Unrest, supra note 104
125
Id.
126
Venezuela: Violence Against Protesters, Journalists, supra note 108.
127
Mariano Castillo, Catherine E. Shoichet, Cheered by Supporters, Venezuelan Opposition Leader López
Surrenders, CNN, Feb. 19, 2014, available at http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/18/world/americas/venezuelaprotests/index.html; Anti-Maduro Protests Persist in Venezuela, Dozens Jailed, supra note 93.
128
Andrew Cawthorne, David Wallis, This Politician is a Wanted Man in Venezuela After Leading Anti-Government
Protests This Week, BUSINESS INSIDER, Feb. 14, 2014, available at http://www.businessinsider.com/leopoldo-lopezwanted-in-venezuela-2014-2 [hereinafter This Politician is a Wanted Man in Venezuela After Leading AntiGovernment Protests This Week].
129
Id.
130
Anti-Maduro Protests Persist in Venezuela, Dozens Jailed, supra note 93.
19
National Prosecutor’s office.”131 He also claimed that the protesters were trained and attacked
the police in a carefully organized fashion, despite the fact that the scene on the street was
chaotic and there was little, if any sign of coordination.132
Public Prosecutor Luisa Ortega continued the theme that Leopoldo López was the
“intellectual author” of the violence and should therefore be punished. She stated, “We are
working to sanction those who are responsible not only as material authors but as intellectual
authors. That is, those who call for or incite violence. These messages are direct but sometimes
also subliminal.”133 Jorge Rodríguez, Mayor of Libertador, a municipality within the
Metropolitan District of Caracas, stated that López was “directly responsible for sowing violence
in the country.”134
On the same day López’s trial resumed on July 23, 2014, President Maduro again
asserted López’s guilt and insisted that he would be punished, observing:
Well, it is the trial of the extreme right leader, who is responsible of crimes,
violence, and destruction of human lives that he planned . . . He has . . . quite
a crazy messianic vision . . . that, let me tell you, alienates and poisons people
making them crazy. He is responsible for crimes that he has to be accountable
for and he will be before justice. He will be – as simple as that . . .
Justice be done! Only justice will punish the resurgence of the neo-Nazi and
fascist sectors that want to impose scenarios like Ukraine, Palestine, Syria,
or Libya. That will not happen; they will not come back.135
As López’s detention and trial continues, Maduro has assailed him repeatedly and
publicly. On November 17, Maduro referred to López as “the Murderer of Ramo Verde”—even
though López was never even charged with murder. 136 One month later, on December 9,
Maduro called López “the Monster of Ramo Verde.”137 In December 2014, Maduro extended
his past criticisms of López’s wife, Lilian Tintori, by publicly accusing her of grave crimes. On
December 14, Maduro accused Tintori of treason for “appealing to an empire to come against
131
Prominent Opposition Leader in Venezuela is Blamed for Unrest, supra note 104.
Id.
133
Virginia López, Jonathan Watts, Venezuela Violence Continues After Arrest of Leopoldo López, THE GUARDIAN,
Feb. 19, 2014, available at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/19/venezuela-leopoldo-lopez-court
[hereinafter Venezuela Violence Continues After Arrest of Leopoldo López].
134
Jorge Rodríguez: Leopoldo López es el Responsible de la Siembra de la Violencia, EL NACIONAL, Feb. 12, 2014,
available at http://173.246.50.18/politica/Jorge-Rodriguez-Leopoldo-Lopez-responsable_0_354564732.html.
135
Press Release, López Defense Team Slams Venezuelan President for “Outrageous” Comments on First Day of
Trial, FRIENDS OF A FREE VENEZUELA, Jul. 25, 2014, available at
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/freeleopoldo/pages/56/attachments/original/1406390519/Release_7-2514.pdf?1406390519 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jtwFkts3YQ&feature=youtu.be [hereinafter Lopez
Defense Team].
136
Maduro Ataca a Leopoldo López y Lo Llama “El Asesino de Ramo Verde”, EL PROPIO, Nov. 17, 2014, available
at http://www.elpropio.com/actualidad/Maduro-Leopoldo-Lopez-Ramo-Verde_0_630536988.html [hereinafter
Maduro Attacks Leopoldo López].
137
Van a Salir Mal Parados, TAL CUAL DIGITAL, Dec. 09, 2014, available at
http://www.talcualdigital.com/Nota/visor.aspx?id=111345
132
20
your own country.”138 In this accusation, Maduro is referring to Tintori’s public campaign to
garner international support for the release of her husband. Maduro believes Tintori is actively
lobbying for sanctions by the United States against Venezuela and a leaked private memo from
the former Venezuelan Ambassador to Spain, Mario Isea, revealed that the Venezuela
government’s current stance is to “neutralize the [international] campaign” led by Tintori to free
López.139 Should Tintori be charged and convicted of treason, she could spend up to 30 years in
prison. In addition to the libel, Maduro’s public statements have demonstrated the arbitrary and
political nature of López’s detention. On January 4, two days after U.S. Vice President Joe
Biden met with Maduro and told him to release political prisoners in Venezuela, Maduro
publically responded to that exchange on television in Venezuela by saying, “The only way I
would use [presidential] powers would be to put [Leopoldo López] on a plane so he can go to the
United States and stay there, and they would give me Oscar López Rivera (Puerto Rican
nationalist and FALN leader convicted and sentenced to 55 years in prison for seditious
conspiracy) - man for man.”140 Suggesting any equivalence between these two cases is absurd
and such a statement only reaffirms Maduro’s lack of commitment to the rule of law. Maduro’s
ability to “release” a currently charged but not yet convicted prisoner demonstrates his absolute
control over the judiciary and renders López his political prisoner. Under Article 50 of the
Constitution of Venezuela: “No act of public power may establish the penalty of banishment
from the national territory to any Venezuelan.”141 So even ignoring the extraordinary nature of
the proposed action, it is also unconstitutional. In affirmation of this view, on January 26, 2015
the Vice President of Venezuela, Jorge Arreaza, accidentally referred to López as a “political
prisoner” on national television.142
B.
Charges and Arrest
Order of Apprehension N 007-14143 (the arrest warrant) was issued for Leopoldo López
by the Prosecutor’s Office on the evening of February 12, and approved shortly thereafter by
Caracas 16th Control Judge, Ralenys Tovar Guillén.144 The arrest warrant ordered the Chief of
138
Maduro: A veces provoca romper todas las relaciones con Estados Unidos, APORREA, Dec. 14, 2014, available at
http://www.aporrea.org/tiburon/n262254.html.
139
Embajador en España Mario Isea: Pide “neutralizar la campaña” por la liberación de Leopoldo López,
NOTIAMANECE, Dec. 6, 2014, available at http://notiamanece.com/noticias/2014/12/06/embajador-en-espana-marioisea-pide-neutralizar-la-campana-por-la-liberacion-de-leopoldo-lopez/.
140
Hannah Dreier and Josh Lederman, Biden, Venezuela Leader Discuss Improving Relations, ABC NEWS, Jan. 2,
2015, available at http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/biden-venezuelas-maduro-speak-sanctions-okd27966876; Brian Ellsworth, Venezuela's Maduro would free Lopez if U.S. freed Puerto Rican, REUTERS, Jan. 4,
2014, available at http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/04/us-venezuela-prisoners-idUSKBN0KD0PQ20150104.
141
See Venezuelan Constitution, supra note 204.
142
#UstedLoVio Arreaza y los presos politico, available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMKQoyCb21U&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop.
143
Orden de Aprehension N° 007-14, Feb. 12, 2014, Circuito Judicial Penal, Área Metropolitana de Caracas,
Tribunal 16 en Funciones de Control [hereinafter “Orden de Aprehension”].
144
Their Claims Were Not True, supra note 113; Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo López Denied Bail, supra
note 111; Juan Francisco Alonso, Bench Warrant Against Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo López, EL
UNIVERSAL, Feb. 16, 2014, available at http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140213/bench-warrant-
21
the Bolivarian National Intelligence Agency,145 rather than the local police, to arrest López.
Judge Tovar also reportedly ordered the Bolivarian Intelligence Service to enter López’s
residence.146 However, no search warrant was ever presented to family members.
Judge Tovar Guillén is a temporary judge and admitted to being pressured by the
Venezuelan executive branch to detain López. On February 26, the Spanish-language news
station Nuestra Tele Noticias 24 Horas disclosed text messages given to them by Gabriela Mata,
a friend of Judge Tovar. In a conversation using the smartphone application WhatsApp and
confirmed by the media as having been traced to her telephone number, Judge Tovar illustrated
her lack of judicial independence, writing to Mata, “My friend, I had to choose between keeping
my job or waking up fired.”147 The television segment of this news story was not available
within Venezuela, as this channel was banned from the air for covering the February 12
protests.148
The initial charges against López were for conspiracy, incitement to commit crimes,
public intimidation, setting fire to a public building, damage to public property, causing serious
injury, premeditated aggravated homicide of Juan Montoya and Bassil Alejandro Da Costa Frías,
attempted premeditated aggravated homicide of Neider Arellano Serra and others, and terrorism.
Given the serious charges and political climate, and without any specific evidence of the
existence of a legal detention order, López went into temporary hiding.
In the early morning hours of February 16, security forces simultaneously raided López’s
home and that of his parents.149 At López’s house, the officials showed only a copy of the arrest
warrant issued by Judge Tovar, but did not present a search warrant. The arresting officers wore
ski masks and at first presented no identification. At López’s parents’ house, more than 20
heavily armed men who identified themselves as police showed up in four vehicles. They
blocked access to the street from the residence at two points, preventing neighbors from coming
in or out of the area. They then searched through the homes without lawyers present. Leopoldo
López was not present at either house.
against-venezuelan-opposition-leader-leopoldo-lopez [hereinafter Bench Warrant Against Venezuelan Opposition
Leader Leopoldo López].
145
In Spanish, “Servicio Bolivariano de Intelegencia Nacional,” also referred to as “SEBIN.”
146
Bench Warrant Against Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo López, supra note 144.
147
Judge Who Ordered Detention of Opposition Leader López Pressured by Maduro Gov’t, NUESTRA TELE
NOTICIAS 24 HORAS, Feb. 26, 2014, available at http://www.ntn24.com/noticias/exclusive-judge-who-ordereddetention-opposition-leader-lopez-pressured-maduro-govt-123025; see also Ciudadana Venezolana Denuncia en
NTN24 que Jueza del Caso Leopoldo López Recibió Presión, NUESTRA TELE NOTICIAS 24 HORAS, Feb. 26, 2014 ,
available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi8LsVLW-b0#t=84 (video in Spanish).
148
Anti-Maduro Protests Persist in Venezuela, Dozens Jailed, supra note 93.
149
Allanan Residencia de los Padres de Leopoldo López, ÚLTIMAS NOTICIAS, Feb. 16, 2014, available at
http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/allanan-residencia-de-los-padres-de-leopoldolopez.aspx; Who is the Opposition Leader Leopoldo López?, CNN, Feb. 2, 2014, (video, at 1:10) available at
http://www.cnn.com/video/api/embed.html#/video/world/2014/02/19/venezuela-leopoldo-lopez-profile-romopkg.cnn.
22
On the evening of February 16, López declared on YouTube that he would turn himself
in and called for a peaceful demonstration on February 18.150 “I will be there showing my face.
I have nothing to fear … If there is any illegal decision to jail me, then I will accept that decision
and that infamous persecution by the State … I want to tell all of you who want to accompany us
that that day we must go out as we have always done, peacefully. I ask that this time let us go
dressed in white so as to symbolize our commitment to peace”, Leopoldo López stated.151
The protest was to be carried out on Plaza Venezuela and lead to the headquarters of the
Ministry of Popular Power for the Interior, Justice, and Peace. Within minutes of the video
going public, government officials stated that they could not protect López and that his life could
be in danger. On February 18, government security forces blocked access to Plaza Venezuela,
preventing entry for the protestors. The group therefore moved to a different area, Plaza Brión
de Chacaíto, and began a peaceful protest. Around noon, Leopoldo López gave a speech to tens
of thousands of supporters with his wife beside him before turning himself in to the
authorities.152 Using a megaphone, he told the crowd: “The options I had were to leave the
country, and I will never leave Venezuela … The other option was to remain in hiding, but that
option could’ve left doubt among some, including some who are here, and we don’t have
anything to hide.”153 He also stated: “I present myself to an unjust judiciary.”154
Leopoldo López also reiterated again the necessity of protesters remaining peaceful in
accordance with his vision for a better Venezuela. He stated:
Nevertheless, I do not want to take this step, perhaps into silence for a while,
without stating very clearly the reasons behind this struggle: This struggle is
indeed for our youth, this struggle is for our students. This struggle is for those
who have been repressed, this struggle is for those who are imprisoned. This
fight, brothers and sisters, is for all the people of Venezuela, who are suffering
today. Our people have to endure long lines and shortages; there are no jobs and
there is no future for young people because of a failed model, a model that is not
our own, but exported by other countries, one that has nothing to do with the
150
#Resistencia18F, available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCmoGxEnEJc&list=UUa7FaW0KNECwcCelo5b0Ibw; The Face of
Venezuela’s Opposition, supra note 10.
151
See Appendix II, YouTube Video Wherein López Declares his Intent to Turn Himself In – February 16, 2014
(emphasis added); see also Eyanir Chinea, Daniel Wallis, Venezuela’s López Says Ready for Arrest at Tuesday’s
March, REUTERS, Feb. 16, 2014, available at http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/16/us-venezuela-protestsidUSBREA1F0SQ20140216.
152
Leopoldo López, the Charismatic Face of Venezuela’s Opposition, supra note 3.
153
The Face of Venezuela’s Opposition, supra note 10; Read the Speech Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo
López Made Before He Was Jailed, DAILY BEAST, Feb. 19, 2014, available at
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/19/exclusive-read-the-speech-venezuelan-opposition-leaderleopoldo-l-pez-made-before-he-was-jailed.html [hereinafter Read the Speech Venezuelan Opposition Leader
Leopoldo López Made Before He Was Jailed].
154
See Appendix II, Speech López at Plaza Brión Just Prior to Arrest and Detainment—February 18, 2014
[hereinafter López February 18 Speech]; See also Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo Lopez Denied Bail,
supra note 111; Exclusive: Read the Speech Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo López Made Before He Was
Jailed, supra note 153.
23
brave people of Venezuela. Brothers and sisters, we have to find our way out of
this disaster together. While our solution has to be peaceful and constitutional, it
also needs to be on the streets because we no longer have any free media to
express ourselves in Venezuela. If the media remains silent, then let the streets
speak out! Let the streets speak out with people! Let the streets speak out
peacefully! And let the streets speak out in democracy!155
Furthermore, he urged his followers to “remain peaceful” once he turned himself in. He
concluded by saying:
Well, brothers and sisters, I ask you to continue this struggle and stay on the
streets, to embrace our right to protest. But do so peacefully and without resorting
to violence. I ask that all of us here today, all Venezuelans who want change, to
get informed, educated and organized, and to carry out a non-violent protest, a
massive demonstration of freewill, hearts and souls of the people who want
change. But without hurting thy neighbor.156
López then peacefully submitted himself for arrest after this speech. He was detained by
military forces and put into an armored military vehicle, as depicted on the cover page of this
petition, before ultimately being transferred to a civilian car.157 He was then taken to a military
prison at Francisco de Miranda Military Air Base. From there the authorities moved him to Fort
Tiuna Military Base via helicopter and then eventually to the 16th Control Court.
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, drove Leopoldo López from
the helicopter to the court with his wife and parents.158 Cabello then drove López to Ramo Verde
Prison (officially called the National Center for Accused Soldiers), with the Commander of the
National Guard. Why Diosdado Cabello served as the driver is both unknown and highly
unusual given his role as head of the Legislature, with one report suggesting Cabello sought to
persuade López to leave the country and seek asylum.159
With his arrest, López became one of 3,716 Venezuelans that have been detained since
January 2014. Of these, 2,006 (198 minors) have been released with precautionary measures,
284 (10 minors) are yet to be verified, 746 (58 minors) have their full freedom, 633 (93 minors)
have been released without legal action, and 47 have been deprived of their liberty, for a total of
3,716 (359 minors).160
155
López February 18 Speech, supra note 154 (emphasis added); see also Read the Speech Venezuelan Opposition
Leader Leopoldo López Made Before He Was Jailed, supra note 153.
156
López February 18 Speech, supra note 154 (emphasis added); Read the Speech Venezuelan Opposition Leader
Leopoldo López Made Before He Was Jailed, supra note 153.
157
See generally A Tale of Two Prisoners, ECONOMIST, Feb 22, 2014, available at
http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21596945-after-opposition-leader-arrested-violence-continues-unabatedtale-two-prisoners.
158
The Poster Boy, supra note 12
159
Id.
160
FORO PENAL VENEZOLANO, available at http://www.foropenal.com/ (translated from Spanish).
24
As indicated in the several-hundred-page indictment, the core of the Government’s
criminal case against López is that he used subliminal messages to incite his followers to
overthrow the Government through violent means.
The Government specifically states:
[T]he defendant Leopoldo López intentionally, through his speech, incites his
followers to take to the streets to refuse to recognize the law, Government, and
State institutions, highlighting therein the commitment of the Venezuelan people
to take to the streets to rebel against this Government, as it is their legitimate right
to do so. He makes this assertion in reference to the presentation of an antidemocratic, inefficient, corrupt government that is allied to drug-traffickers and
profoundly regressive. He accuses the Maduro government and holds it
responsible for being the only party responsible for all the evils that are currently
being endured in the country.161
The indictment further states these speeches and expression on social media were
“inflamed speech that incited people to violence and [to] disrespect … legally established
authorities.”162 The Government claims that this speech was carried out through subliminal
means, saying “[E]vidence can be seen in the social networks, especially in the Twitter account
@leopoldolopez, of various declarations with subliminal messages issued by said citizen.”163
The Government defines subliminal messages as a message “which is captured by thousands of
persons through several means of communication and has the goal of persuading someone of
something without that person being conscious of it.”164 It arrives at this conclusion by using an
expert of semantic analysis, who states that:
Leopoldo López possesses a discursive ethos that dominates and influences the
ethos of his listeners; consequently, everything that the sender or speaker tells his
recipients would exercise great influence, not only in their manner of thinking, but
also in the potential actions that the recipients might perform, acting as a
consequence. On this point, the discursive power and influence of citizen
Leopoldo López as a political leader is unquestionable, as he has served as the
catalyst of annoyances felt by a significant part of the Venezuelan population.
Thus, whatever he says or may be able to transmit to his audience is effectively
transferred, so much so that his recipients feel encouraged to continue to carry out
the actions that he indicates they should do, even though he does not explain it to
them clearly.165
The Government fails to explain in its indictment how such subliminal messages could be
received by the population at large when in every speech referenced in the indictment, he
161
Indictment, Apr 4, 2014, at 240-41 (translated from Spanish) [hereinafter Indictment].
Id. at 54-55.
163
Id. at 40-41.
164
Id. at 41.
165
Id. at 171.
162
25
specifically, explicitly, clearly, and unequivocally urges his followers to use exclusively nonviolent and constitutional means to challenge the Government.
This argument, which was the single alleged and attenuated connection between López
and the violence in question was recanted on February 27, 2015 when the expert of semantic
analysis, Dr. Rosa Amelia Asuaje León, withdrew her previous arguments during the trial
proceedings. Under cross-examination from López's domestic counsel, Juan Carlos Gutierrez,
Dr. Asuaje revised her testimony and admitted that López had never called for violence. She
stated, “López's messages are not subliminal; they are clear, direct, and specific. They call for
non-violence. There was never a call to violence by López.”166
C.
Legal Proceedings
Prosecutor Franklin Nieves eventually dropped the murder and terrorism charges167 when
journalists showed it to be impossible that Leopoldo López was responsible.168 An investigative
piece showed video footage of Government security forces shooting at unarmed protesters on
February 12.169 As a result, the murder charges for the two deaths were filed against members of
the Bolivarian Intelligence Service.170
Supervisory Judge No. 16 of Caracas, Ralenys Tovar Guillén, ordered López’s pretrial
detention on February 20.171 The arraignment took place inside a military bus parked outside
Ramo Verde Prison.172 The hearing was originally supposed to take place at 10:30 am on
February 19 at the 16th Control Court in the Palace of Justice. However, at approximately 4 pm,
López’s defense team was notified about Judge Tovar’s decision to hold the hearing at the
military prison. This decision was made after a group of students supporting López arrived
outside the Palace of Justice to demonstrate, and were subsequently attacked by Maduro
supporters.173 One of López’s defense counsels, Bernardo Pulido, stated to the media, “I had
never seen the courthouse as heavily guarded as today. Thus, we do not understand how the
security of our client cannot be guaranteed.”174
After the hearing took place in the bus known as the “Mobile Court,” López then went
back inside the prison walls. The bus is usually limited to hearings for parties that are
166
Experta Reconoce que Leopoldo López No Instó a La Violencia, EL NACIONAL, Feb. 27, 2015, available at
http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/Experta-reconoce-Leopoldo-Lopez-violencia_0_581942045.html [hereinafter
Expert Recognizes Leopoldo’s Non-Violence].
167
Mariano Castillo, Ed Payne, Murder Charges Against Venezuela Opposition Leader Dropped, CNN, Feb. 20,
2014, available at http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/20/world/americas/venezuela-protests/ [hereinafter Murder
Charges Against Venezuela Opposition Leader Dropped].
168
Sea ud. El Juez Parte I, Voluntad Popular, supra note 123.
169
Punished for Protesting, supra note 88.
170
Their Claims Were Not True, supra note 113
171
Venezuela: Violence Against Protesters, Journalists, supra note 108.
172
Id.; Murder Charges Against Venezuela Opposition Leader Dropped, supra note 167.
173
Juan Francisco Alonso, Pre-trial Hearing of Leopoldo López to be Held in Ramo Verde Prison, EL UNIVERSAL,
Feb. 19, 2014, available at http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140219/pre-trial-hearing-of-leopoldolopez-to-be-held-in-ramo-verde-prison.
174
Id.
26
incapacitated. The hearing took place on the bus, parked just outside the military prison. The
hearing did not begin until 10 pm175 and ended at approximately 4 am. Furthermore, because the
hearing took place in Los Teques, Miranda, Judge Tovar was sitting outside of her jurisdiction
when the hearing took place, making the hearing and the resulting adoption of charges against
López illegal.
On March 28, the Caracas Court of Appeals denied López bail.176 The judge stated the
petition filed by López’s counsel was “without merit.”177 On April 4, Prosecutor Luisa Ortega
Diaz officially announced the charges; if convicted, López faces up to 12 years in prison.178
There is also an inherent conflict of interest in the prosecution. The Attorney General’s Office is
claiming it is the primary victim of the February 12 violence, which damaged its offices, while
nevertheless maintaining its prosecutorial authority.
In early May 2014, the Government appointed Judge Adriana López (who has no relation
to López or his sister with the same name) to replace Judge Tovar, allegedly due to a usual
rotation of judges. Judge López was set to decide whether Leopoldo López will be tried or not in
a probable-cause hearing set for the morning of May 8, 2014.179 However, on May 8, López’s
domestic attorneys were notified that the hearing had been postponed on account of Judge López
being ill, and the hearing was postponed until June.
The intermediate phase of the Venezuelan penal process culminated on June 5, 2014.
After four days of hearings, provisional Judge Adriana López of Court 16 Control of Caracas
admitted all the charges filed against Leopoldo López for the crimes of fire, damages, incitement
and association to commit crimes. She also admitted all the evidence offered by the Office of the
Public Prosecutor and ordered the case to be sent for a public trial.
Similarly, Judge López declared inadmissible all the requests for annulments that had
been raised by the defense for human rights violations, including inhumane conditions of
imprisonment. In addition, she denied all the objections that were presented against the Office of
the Public Prosecutor´s accusation for factual and legal flaws in their presentation of the case.
Although the defense proposed 60 witnesses, 12 experts, and 13 videos, Judge López refused all
evidence except for two witnesses, while all of the prosecution’s evidence, including 100
witnesses, seven reports, four videos, and two site inspections were admitted. The decision also
175
The Poster Boy, supra note 12.
Venezuela Opposition Leader Leopoldo López Will Remain in a Military Prison, MERCOPRESS, Mar. 29, 2014,
available at http://en.mercopress.com/2014/03/29/venezuela-opposition-leader-leopoldo-lopez-will-remain-in-amilitary-prison [hereinafter Venezuela Opposition Leader Leopoldo López Will Remain in a Military Prison];
Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo López Denied Bail, supra note 111; Venezuela Court Rejects Release of
Opposition Leader, YAHOO!, Mar. 28, 2014, available at http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-court-rejects-releaseopposition-leader-184521764.html [hereinafter Venezuela Court Rejects Release of Opposition Leader].
177
Venezuela Court Rejects Release of Opposition Leader, supra note 176.
178
Venezuelan Opposition leader Leopoldo López Formally Charged, Faces 14 Years, FOX NEWS LATINO, Apr. 4,
2014, available at http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2014/04/04/venezuelan-opposition-leader-leopoldo-lopezformally-charged-faces-14-up-to/.
179
Juan Francisco Alonso, López’s Probable-cause Hearing to be Held on May 8, EL UNIVERSAL, Apr. 10, 2014,
available at http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140410/lopezs-probable-cause-hearing-to-be-held-onmay-8.
176
27
reaffirmed that the defendant would continue to be held in custody through the trial. These
judicial pronouncements violated the Venezuelan Constitution and ratified the systematic
violation of fundamental rights committed against Leopoldo López.
The trial of Leopoldo López opened on July 23, 2014, with Judge Susana Barreiros of the
28 Trial Court of the Metropolitan Area of Caracas. The Prosecutor General is Luisa Ortega
Díaz, and the Prosecutor for López’s case is Franklin Nieves. Judge Barreiros, like Judge López,
appears to be continuing the pattern of denying requests by the defense: for example, she rejected
all claims presented by defense lawyers requesting remedy for human rights abuses.180 Of
particular concern is that she affirmed Judge López’s decision to block the vast majority of the
defense’s evidence. The trial is currently proceeding with over 100 exhibits for the prosecution,
including 82 witnesses (mostly police or officials from the prosecutorial officials), 16 expert
testimonies, 7 reports, 4 videos, and 2 on-site inspections. In contrast, only 2 defense witnesses
were allowed. Such a gross imbalance in the proceedings prevents Leopoldo López from
making a proper defense, and represents a failure of the Venezuelan justice system to provide
him a fair trial.
th
After the initial announcement on October 7 of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention’s decision, which found López’s detention arbitrary, Judge Barreiros stated she would
respond publically, but then, closed her court without notice until November 13.181 On
November 13, Judge Barreiros officially rejected the decision of the UN Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention on the basis that “Venezuela is a sovereign country that does not accept
interferences on internal matters.”182 On that same day, the UN Committee Against Torture,
which oversees implementation of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman,
and Degrading Treatment, issued its final report on Venezuela’s review. It is worth noting that
the Committee explicitly called for the immediate release of López and all political prisoners in
Venezuela, stating, “the State party should . . . release immediately Leopoldo López . . . and all
those who have been arbitrarily detained for exercising their right to speak out and protest
peacefully.”183 On December 16, Judge Barreiros formally rejected the Committee Against
Torture’s call for López’s release as well.184
In response to Judge Barreiros’ rejection of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
180
Juan Francisco Alonso, López Feels that Democracy is Prosecuted in His Case, EL UNIVERSAL, Jul. 24, 2014,
available at http://english.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140724/lopez-feels-that-democracy-is-prosecuted-inhis-case.
181
Juan Francisco Alonso, Tintori exige a Tribunal 28 el cese de receso y acatar dictamen de la ONU, EL
UNIVERSAL, Nov. 11, 2014, available at http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141111/tintori-exige-atribunal-28-el-cese-de-receso-y-acatar-dictamen-de-la-.
182
Edgar López, Jueza negó liberación de López pedida por la ONU, EL NACIONAL, Nov. 14, 2014, available at
http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/Jueza-liberacion-Lopez-pedida-ONU_0_518948357.html [hereinafter Judge
Rejects UN Decision].
183
Observaciones finales sobre el tercer y cuarto informe periódico de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela,
CAT/C/VEN/3-4, UN COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE, Issued Nov. 13, 2014, at ¶ 9. [hereinafter UN Committee
Against Torture Final Report on Venezuela]
184
Jueza Rechaza Resolución de Comité de la ONU que Pide Liberar a López, LA VERDAD, Dec. 16, 2014, available
at http://www.laverdad.com/politica/66021-jueza-rechaza-resolucion-de-comite-de-la-onu-que-pide-liberar-alopez.html.
28
Detention decision, López appealed immediately to the Court of Appeals of Caracas. On
November 18, López announced that he would not be participating in the trail and would
continue to protest the trial until his appeal was considered. After López missed seven scheduled
court hearings, on January 13, 2015, Judge Barreiros issued a contempt of court ruling and stated
that the trial would continue despite López’s absence.185 Two months later, on March 15, 2015,
the Court of Appeals of Caracas ruled in favor of Judge Barreiros’ rejection of the UN Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention decision.186
On February 27, 2015, the Government of Venezuela’s domestic legal case against
Leopoldo López collapsed. Since the start of the trial, the central claim of the Government of
Venezuela has been that, although López was not present when the violence between protesters
and security officers occurred, he had used “subliminal messages” to incite people to violence,
even though in the speeches presented as evidence to the court he unequivocally has advocated
non-violence. When the Government presented its expert witness, Dr. Rosa Amelia
Asuaje León, a PhD in Linguistics, who is a Professor at Universidad de Los Andes and writer
for the pro-government newspaper Aporrea, she analyzed several speeches from some 30 videos
supplied by the prosecution, which had provided the basis of her written report that she had
submitted to the court.
Nevertheless, under cross-examination from López's domestic counsel Juan Carlos
Gutierrez, Dr. Asuaje recanted her prior testimony and admitted that López had never called for
violence. She stated, “López's messages are not subliminal; they are clear, direct, and
specific. They call for non-violence. There was never a call to violence by López.”187 Dr.
Asuaje was the most important witness because her analysis of López’s speeches was the basis
for his indictment. Without her tying López to these events, there is no legal case against him.
Unfortunately, this appears unlikely to matter to the Government of Venezuela, which has started
to move more rapidly in hearing witnesses in the case and appears determined to convict and
sentence him to a lengthy prison term.
D.
Conditions of Imprisonment
185
Leopoldo López Trial To Continue Despite His Absence, PANAM POST, Jan. 15, 2015, available at
http://panampost.com/panam-staff/2015/01/15/leopoldo-lopez-trial-to-continue-despite-his-absence.
186
Corte de Apelaciones de Caracas Decide Mantener "La Medida Privativa de Libertad" contra Leopoldo López,
NTN 24, Mar. 15, 2015, available http://www.ntn24.com/noticia/corte-de-apelaciones-decide-mantener-la-medidaprivativa-de-libertad-contra-leopoldo-lopez-43426.
187
Expert Recognizes Leopoldo’s Non-Violence, supra note 166.
29
Leopoldo López is being held in solitary confinement at Ramo Verde Prison, the official
name of which is Centro Penitenciario para Procesados Militares (CENAPROMIL) (“National
Center for Accused Soldiers.”)188 The prison is located in Los Teques, a municipality about one
hour outside of Caracas.189 He has been placed in permanent, enforced, and arbitrary solitary
confinement up to 23-24 hours a day, including a three-month period without natural light where
he was not allowed to leave his cell. López has also been punished on six occasions for
purported offenses and denied all visitors for six two-week periods. On one notable occasion in
October 2014, López was punished in response to his hanging a sign outside his window praising
the UN for standing with political prisoners in Venezuela.190
In addition, he has suffered nine arbitrary and highly physical searches and confiscation
of previously approved items, including music players, books, private correspondence, and notes
prepared for his trial. These searches and punishments are in response to not only López’s
actions and but the actions of his wife, Lilian Tintori, as well.
188
Venezuela Opposition Leader Leopoldo López Will Remain in a Military Prison, supra note 176; Una Cárcel
Military Alberga al Politico Leopoldo López, EL MUNDO, Feb, 24, 2014, available at
http://www.elmundo.es/america/2014/02/21/530777b0ca474106648b4579.html.
189
Venezuelan Opposition Leader Leopoldo López Denied Bail, supra note 111; Venezuela Charges Opposition
Leader, Protests Erupt, YAHOO!, Apr. 5, 2014, available at http://news.yahoo.com/jailed-venezuelan-oppositionleader-formally-charged-185439105.html; The Face of Venezuela’s Opposition, supra note 10.
190
López y Ceballos Exigen a la ONU Libertad Para Presos Políticos, MIAMIDIARIO, Oct, 17, 2014, available at
http://www.miamidiario.com/noticia/329999.
30
The Government states the reason for López being held in a military prison is that it is the
only place where they can guarantee his safety.191 However, López’s lawyers and relatives
found inhumane conditions upon visiting López. The cell is both dark and cold. The cell
contains one small window, which allows for inadequate light, which has caused López to
develop vision impairment. The guards of the prison further worsen López’s inhumane
condition. They play music at odd hours of the night, especially before important hearings, in
order to keep López awake. Periodically, they cut off the water supply. On October 27, 2014,
around 1 am, the guards broke plastic bags of human urine and feces against the bars of López’s
prison windows swung down from the roof, spraying the entire cell and López himself with
excrement. The prison officials then shut off water and electricity for 12 hours, making it
impossible for him to clean himself.192
The conditions of López’s imprisonment have changed after he gave a telephone
interview to CNN Español with Fernando del Rincón193 from Ramo Verde on February 18, 2015,
and after his wife, Lilian Tintori, met publicly with US Vice-President Joe Biden on February 11,
2015.194 On February 13, 2015, armed men, dressed in black and with ski masks, ransacked
López’s cell. After forcibly entering his cell, they destroyed all his books and personal note that
he used for his defense. López was then violently removed from his cell and put in a small
isolation cell that had no toilet or running water. About a week later, López’s isolation cell was
once again raided by about 30 Venezuelan military, heavily armed and wearing ski masks and
dressed in black. They aggressively struggled with López, pointing a gun directly at him, in an
attempt to remove him from his cell. López was told that he was being moved a new prison.
Ultimately, López was not transferred to another prison and has remained in this
punishment cell ever since. The cell is much smaller than this previous cell, about 3x2 meters
(10x7 feet) with a bed, a plastic table, and a plastic chair. López now has access to a bathroom
with running water. For the first month that he was in this cell, he was kept in complete isolation
as punishment for his and his wife’s actions. Recently, he has been able to spend time with the
two other prisoners in that section of the prison and to see his family. When they visit, they are
able to move to a larger room, where they can associate with the other prisoners and their
families. His family is no longer allowed to bring him books or personal letters, however, as the
guards have said that “he is reading too much.”
Even before López’s move to his punishment cell, the United Nations Special Rapporteur
on Torture, Juan Méndez, expressed concern over López’s cruel living conditions. In his report
to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Méndez states, “In the absence of information to
the contrary, the Rapporteur concludes that the Government of Venezuela, by not protecting the
physical and psychological integrity of Leopoldo López, as proved by his being maintained in
191
Murder Charges Against Venezuela Opposition Leader Dropped, supra note 167.
Aíslan y Castigan a Presos Políticos en Ramo Verde, EL NACIONAL, Oct. 31, 2014, available at
http://www.elnacional.com/politica/Aislan-castigan-politicos-Ramo-Verde_0_510549135.html [hereinafter Isolating
and Punishing Political Prisoners in Ramo Verde].
193
The interview with English subtitles is available at https://vimeo.com/122755695.
194
Guy Taylor, Amid Coup Charges, Joe Biden Meets Venezuelan Opposition Figures, THE WASHINGTON TIMES,
Feb. 11, 2015, available at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/11/amid-coup-charges-biden-meetsvenezuelan-oppositio/.
192
31
solitary confinement 23 hours a day, and the violent searches that resulted in bruises on the skin
of Lopez . . . is responsible for [his] physical and mental sufferings.”195 On March 16, 2015, in
response to these concerns, the Foreign Ministers of Colombia, Brazil, and Ecuador, as members
of UNASUR, sent a formal request to President Maduro, asking him to allow the Red Cross to
visit Leopoldo López and the other political prisoners in the country and inspect their living
conditions.196
In addition to his poor living conditions, López does not have access to confidential
communication with his attorneys. The attorneys are physically searched when entering the
prison, and documents they bring to the prison are read. The attorneys are only allowed to meet
in López’s prison cell, which affords no privacy because a prison guard is stationed directly
outside within earshot of their conversations.
Finally, under Venezuelan prison law, López should be allowed any visitors that he
deems as a “close friend,” which is commonly interpreted in Venezuela as anyone whom the
person under detention agrees to receive as a visitor.197 Since López’s detention, only his
immediate family and lawyers have been able to visit him. On two separate occasions, visitors
whom López has desired to meet with have been turned away at the gate of the military prison.
On November 14, José Antonio Viera-Gallo and Claudio Herrera, Chilean politicians
representing the organization Socialist International, attempted to visit López with members of
López’s family and were refused entry.198 More recently on January 25, former presidents,
Andrés Pastrana of Colombia and Sebastián Piñera of Chile, attempted to visit López, again with
members of López’s family, and were denied entry by security forces.199
IV.
History of Past Persecution – False Accusations and Disqualification to Exercise
Political Rights Without Due Process of Law 3500
Beyond prior violent attacks, the Government has a long history of persecuting López
dating back to 2004. Despite being recognized as running the most transparent municipality200 in
all of Venezuela during his time as mayor, the Venezuelan Government banned López from
public office for six years. His political disqualification ran from December 12, 2008 to
December 12, 2014 and stemmed from two administrative proceedings related to accusations of
corruption.
195
Juan Méndez, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, Addendum, HRC/28/68/Add.1, UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUCNIL, Mar. 5, 2015, at ¶ 642.
196
Ecuador, Brasil y Colombia Pidieron a Maduro Autorizar una Visita de la Cruz Roja a Leopoldo López, DIARIO
DE CUBA, Mar. 17, 2015, available at http://www.diariodecuba.com/internacional/1426594800_13446.html.
197
Ley de Régimen Penitenciario de Venezuela, Art. 58, available at
http://www.oas.org/Juridico/mla/sp/ven/sp_ven-mla-law-penitent.html
198
Impiden a Viera-Gallo Visitar a Leopoldo López en Cárcel de Venezuela, LA NACIÓN, Nov. 17, 2014, available
at http://www.lanacion.cl/noticias/mundo/impiden-a-viera-gallo-visitar-a-leopoldo-lopez-en-carcel-devenezuela/2014-11-17/140545.html
199
Ernesto Londoño, Colombia Calls for Release of Venezuelan Political Prisoner, THE NEW YORK TIMES, Jan. 28,
2015, available at http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/colombia-calls-for-release-of-venezuelanpolitical-prisoner/.
200
Oslo Freedom Forum, supra note 18.
32
López is also currently subject to criminal proceedings on one of these grounds, despite
the statute of limitations having expired. He was criminally charged for an alleged involvement
in the 2002 attempted coup, despite merely following judicial orders to detain and protect a
government official and never having signed the Carmona Decree. As described below in
substantial detail in Appendix I, all of these proceedings are without merit, and are simply an
attempt to undermine López as a political opposition figure, permanently oust him from political
office, silence him, and imprison him.
V.
Legal Analysis
The detention of López is arbitrary and in violation of international law.201 Specifically,
the detention is arbitrary because López was imprisoned for exercising his rights to freedom of
expression, peaceful assembly, and right to take part in public affairs and be elected without
unreasonable restrictions. The detention is also arbitrary because in the prosecution of López,
the Government is failing to observe international norms related to a fair trial.
Venezuela is a party202 to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights203
(ICCPR), and must therefore abide by all its provisions contained therein. In addition, the rights
provided for in the ICCPR are binding on the Government not only as a matter of international
law but also because the Venezuelan Constitution explicitly states that the international treaties
to which it is a party have constitutional status and overrule any conflicting domestic legislation.
Article 23 of the Constitution reads:
The treaties, pacts and conventions relating to human rights which have been
executed and ratified by Venezuela have a constitutional rank, and prevail over
internal legislation, insofar as they contain provisions concerning the enjoyment
and exercise of such rights that are more favorable than those established by this
Constitution and the laws of the Republic, and shall be immediately and directly
applied by the courts and other organs of the Public Power.204
A.
The Detention Resulted from Leopoldo López’s Exercise of the Rights or Freedoms
Guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
A detention is considered arbitrary when it results from the exercise of fundamental
201
This case is currently pending before the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. See Revised Methods of
Work of the Working Group, Human Rights Council, A/HRC/16/47 (Annex), Jan. 19, 2011, para. 8(b)-(c)
[hereinafter Revised Methods of Work].
202
United Nations Treaty Status: ICCPR, http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREA
TY&mtdsg_no=IV-4&chapter=4&lang=en#EndDec (noting that Venezuela signed the treaty on June 24, 1969, and
ratified it on May 10, 1978).
203
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, G.A. Res 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16), at
52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force 23 March 1976, at Article 9(1) [hereinafter
ICCPR].
204
Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela 1999, Article 23 (emphasis added) [hereinafter Venezuelan
Constitution].
33
rights protected by international law.205 These fundamental rights include the rights to freedom
of expression, peaceful assembly, and right to take part in public affairs and be elected without
unreasonable restrictions.206 López’s detention is a result of his exercising these rights and,
therefore, is considered an arbitrary detention.
1.
The Venezuelan Government Arrested and Imprisoned Leopoldo López Because He
Exercised His Right to Freedom of Expression
The Government’s detention of Leopoldo López is punishment for exercising his right to
freedom of expression protected by the ICCPR and Universal Declaration of Human Rights.207
Freedom of expression includes the “freedom to hold opinions without interference” and “to
seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds regardless of frontiers, either orally,
in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.”208 Freedom
of expression also includes the right to political discourse.209 As the Human Rights Committee
observed:
[T]he freedoms of information and of expression are cornerstones in any free and
democratic society. It is in the essence of such societies that its citizens must be
allowed to inform themselves about alternatives to the political system/parties in
power, and that they may criticize or openly and publicly evaluate their
Governments without fear of interference or punishment . . .. 210
In addition to the requirements of international law, Venezuelan law protects the right to
freedom of expression. Article 57 of the Venezuelan Constitution guarantees “the right to
205
A Category II deprivation of liberty occurs, “When the deprivation of liberty results from the exercise of the
rights or freedoms guaranteed by articles 7, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and, insofar as States parties are concerned, by articles 12, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26 and 27 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.” See Revised Methods of Work, supra note 201.
206
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. Res. 217A (III), U.N. Doc. A/810, at arts. 19-21 (1948)
[hereinafter Universal Declaration]. See also ICCPR, supra note 203, at Arts. 19, 21, and 25.
207
While the Universal Declaration, as a General Assembly resolution, is not technically considered binding in its
entirety on all states, scholars continue to debate the binding nature of specific provisions. However, in looking to
the Universal Declaration and the Body of Principles Regarding Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, the UN
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has decided to “rely heavily on ‘soft’ international legal principles to
adjudicate individual cases.” Jared M. Genser & Margaret Winterkorn-Meikle, The Intersection of Politics and
International Law: The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Theory and Practice, 39 COLUM.
HUM. RTS. L. REV. 101, 114 (2008).
208
ICCPR, supra note 203, at Article 19(1), (2) (“Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right
shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideals of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either
orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice”); see also Universal
Declaration, supra note 206, at Article 19 (“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas
through any media regardless of frontiers.”).
209
Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 34 (2011) on Article 19: Freedom of Expression, Sep. 12, 2011
(adopted at 102nd session July 11-29, 2011), CCPR /C/GC/34 at ¶ 11 [hereinafter General Comment 34].
210
Aduayom et al. v. Togo, Communications Nos. 422/1990, 423/1990 and 424/1990, U.N. Doc.
CCPR/C/51/D/422/1990/423/1990 and 424/1990 (1996) at ¶ 7.4 (emphasis added). See also de Morais v. Angola,
Communication No. 1128/2002, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/83/D/1128/2002 (2005) at ¶ 6.7.
34
express freely his or her thoughts, ideas or opinions … and to use for such purpose any means of
communication … and no censorship shall be established [against this right].”211 As noted
above, this Constitutional protection is inextricably linked to Venezuela’s international
obligations pursuant to Article 23 of its Constitution.212
The speeches and other statements cited by the Government as reason for Leopoldo
López’s detention fit squarely within López’s right to freedom of expression. Contrary to what
the Government asserts, López never advocated its violent overthrow. In fact, he specifically,
explicitly, and consistently—in all speeches presented and analyzed in the indictment—called for
non-violent213 and democratic change within the parameters of the Venezuelan Constitution.214
López’s speech evaluated and strongly criticized policies of the Government.215 But, the
imprisonment of López is solely in reaction to his criticism of the Government, which he should
be able to deliver without fear of interference or punishment. López’s speech is well within the
protection of freedom of expression afforded by both international and Venezuelan law and
therefore his detention on these grounds is in violation of both domestic and international law.
Further, the narrow limitation on the right to freedoms of opinion and expression
contained in Article 19(3) of the ICCPR does not apply in this case. Article 19(3) provides that,
The exercise of the [right to freedom of expression] carries with it special duties
and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these
shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: (a) [f]or the respect
of the rights or reputations of others; [or] (b) [f]or the protection of national
security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health and morals.216
The scope of this restriction is highly limited. The Human Rights Committee has emphasized
the narrowness of this limitation by noting that,
211
See supra note 204; see also Venezuelan Constitution, supra note 204, at Article 57 (“Everyone has the right to
express freely his or her thoughts, ideas or opinions orally, in writing or by any other form of expression, and to use
for such purpose any means of communication and diffusion, and no censorship shall be established. Anyone
making use of this right assumes full responsibility for everything expressed. Anonymity, war propaganda,
discriminatory messages or those promoting religious intolerance are not permitted. Censorship restricting the
ability of public officials to report on matters for which they are responsible is prohibited”).
212
See Venezuelan Constitution, supra note 204.
213
See López Attorney General Speech, supra note 103 (“Here there is no vocation for violence”); See López Plaza
Venezuela Speech, supra note 102 (“[L]et us go out…assuming [the path of] non-violence. Our territory is the
street, our struggle is non-violent”); See López Jan. 23 Speech, supra note 94 (“[A]n uprising/revolt [‘alzamiento’]
means first and foremost the rising to consciousness, the rising up of our fighting spirit, the rising up to our vocation
for change… a peaceful struggle, popular, constitutional, and democratic”).
214
López Jan. 23 Speech, supra note 94 (“[T]he exit must be, first and foremost, popular… Secondly, a democratic
exit, and thirdly, an exit within the Constitution. The Constitution offers us various tools and we will debate with
the people which of these tools is the most appropriate… the most democratic”).
215
López Jan. 23 Speech, supra note 94.
216
ICCPR, supra note 203, at Article 19(3).
35
[W]hen a State party imposes a limitation on the exercise of freedom of
expression, [it] may not put in jeopardy the right itself.217 [Moreover,
Article19(3)] may never be invoked as a justification for the muzzling of any
advocacy of multi-party democracy, democratic tenets and human rights. Nor,
under any circumstance, can an attack on a person, because of the exercise of his
or her freedom of opinion or expression, including such forms of attack as
arbitrary arrest … be compatible with article 19.218
As such, any limitation “must meet a strict test of justification.”219 To guide states, the Human
Rights Committee has established three requirements for any limitation on the right to freedom
of expression. A permissible limitation must be (1) “provided by law,” (2) for the protection of
one of the “enumerated purposes,” and (3) “necessary” to achieve that purpose.220
Venezuela attempts to satisfy this narrow restriction by claiming López’s imprisonment
is necessary for the protection of public order. The Government states “public order is violated
by placing an entire society in imminent danger when individuals gather together in order to
commit crimes of a collective nature that evolve into destabilizing the prevailing social
peace.”221 While protection of public order may serve as a legitimate objective, the Government
fails to demonstrate how López’s speech caused such a threat, and even assuming it did, how his
detention is necessary to achieve this purpose. As such, the imprisonment of López amounts to
no more than an attempt to muzzle multi-party democracy in Venezuela.
Despite invoking public order, the Venezuelan Government cites no law and therefore
fails to establish a prima facie argument for López’s detention. Even if it had cited to a law, this
invocation still falls outside of the exception because it does not satisfy the third part of the test
that requires detention to be necessary to achieve the enumerated purpose. It is not enough that a
limitation on freedom of expression merely advance the government’s purpose.222 The Human
Rights Committee has observed, “[T]he requirement of necessity implies an element of
proportionality, in the sense that the scope of the restriction imposed on the freedom of
expression must be proportional to the value which the restriction serves to protect.”223 This
requires the government to establish a “direct and immediate connection between the expression
and the threat.”224 Here, the Government has offered no such arguments.
217
General Comment 34, supra note 209, at ¶ 21.
General Comment 34, supra note 209, at ¶ 23 (emphasis added).
219
Park v. Republic Korea, Communication No. 628/1995, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/64/D/628/1995 (1998) at ¶ 10.3.
220
Shin v. Republic of Korea, Communication No. 926/2000, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/80/D/926/2000 (2004) at ¶ 7.3.
221
Indictment, supra note 161, at 2.
222
The UN Human Rights Committee has noted that even if the State party establishes the existence of a legitimate
purpose for the limitation, it must also demonstrate that the actions taken were “necessary” for protecting that
purpose. Shin v. Republic of Korea, supra note 220.
223
Gauthier v. Canada, Communication No. 633/1995, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/65/D/633/1995, at ¶ 13.6 (adopted Apr.
7, 1999). See also Jong-Kyu Sohn v. Republic of Korea, Communication No. 518/1992, U.N. Doc.
CCPR/C/54/D/518/1992 at ¶10.4 (adopted Jul. 19, 1995) (finding that “reference to the general nature of the labor
movement” and “alleging that the statements issued by the author in collaboration with others was a disguise for the
incitement to a national strike” was insufficiently precise to meet the necessity requirement).
224
General Comment No. 34, supra note 209, at ¶ 35 (emphasis added).
218
36
Moreover, the Government acknowledges the weakness of its own arguments in three
key ways. First, it admits that López merely “may” have been able to incite his supporters to
violence using subliminal messaging. Second, the Government fails to account for the fact that
virtually all the protesters remained peaceful and that sporadic violence continues despite López
remaining in a prison cell, unable to tweet or give speeches. Third, the Venezuelan Government
contradicts itself by actually admitting that Leopoldo López preached non-violence, but then
claiming he did not do so with enough specificity to be effective or genuine.
The Government admits the weakness of its own argument when it claims only López
“may” have been able to incite his followers to violence using subliminal messaging.
[T]he speaker (Leopoldo López), by cultivating rage in his speech arguing against
the current national government, may have been able to transfer this sentiment to
his public (followers) by activating a discursive mechanism that he named
#LaSalida, under an argument that denounced the present government (led by
President Nicolás Maduro) of having omitted a series of offences, excesses, and
omissions that could have inflamed those who follow Leopoldo López to
materialize this solution by a possible violent path.225
The Government’s own expert acknowledges the subliminal messages theory is tenuous, in his
own analysis.
For me, what occurred in the afternoon of 12 February 2014 in front of the Office
of the Public Prosecutor of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is proof that the
incitement by a political leader to struggle in the streets in order to escape from a
constitutional government can generate erratic, desperate acts that are very likely
violent.226
If one assumes, arguendo, the Government’s claim that López has the ability to influence
others through subliminal messages, including his 3.45 million Twitter followers, then it follows
that many of his 3.45 million followers should have engaged in violent action against the
government. This clearly did not occur, however, because media reports indicate that a very
small minority of protesters engaged in violence on February 12, and all three deaths actually
came at the hands of government forces. If one follows the Government’s logic a step further, it
should follow that the violence would cease once López was detained, as he cannot tweet, give
speeches, or easily communicate with his supporters from his prison cell. However, since his
detention, both street protests and sporadic violence has continued.
Along these same lines, despite arguing that López has control of his 3.45 million Twitter
followers, the Government simultaneously asserts that López’s followers only represent a small
segment of the population.
225
226
Indictment, supra note 161, at 172-173 (emphasis added).
Id. at 173-175 (emphasis added).
37
[I]t is important to emphasize that the idea of the ‘people’ is very vague and not
easy to delimit how much of the Venezuelan people follow his ideals. The fact
that there are annoyances felt on the part of a sector of the Venezuelan population,
and that the speaker catalyzes them, does not mean that the entire Venezuelan
people follows what citizen Leopoldo López proposes, much less that they are in
agreement with his stance and political decisions.227
Perplexingly, the Government argues that López is somehow able to control those who agree
with him through subliminal messages, yet is unable to control those who do not believe him.
Simultaneously, it argues that the segment López does represent is simply a small minority
nevertheless. This tenuous argument contradicts the Government’s implicit argument that
López’s imprisonment is necessary to control public order. If most people don’t follow what
López wants, then there is by definition no threat to public order.
Finally, on one hand, the Government claims that López incited his followers to carry out
a specific plan of violence. Yet, on the other hand, the Government asserts that López did not
give clear enough instructions regarding the type of nonviolent protests that were to be carried
out, and thus he cannot really be characterized as nonviolent:
[W]e could appeal to the figure of Gandhi, a leader who achieved independence
for India through the use of non-violent methods such as fasting and vigils… but
in that case Gandhi always gave precise instructions to his followers … In the
speeches analyzed, citizen Leopoldo López … did not establish precise guidelines
for the characteristics of the protests that would be carried out.228
Because the Government has no evidence of López calling for its violent overthrow, it is
left to present a dubious and illogical semantic analysis of his speeches. What emerges in the
final analysis is that López was exercising his right to freedoms of opinion and expression by
calling for what any person who lives in an oppressive country desires: a democratic political
system that is free from corruption and that works for its citizens. Therefore, the Government
has failed to establish a prima facie case as to how López’s detention is necessary to protect
public order. The Government’s restriction on López’s speech through its arbitrary detention is a
clear violation of his right to freedoms of opinion and expression.
Similarly, the Venezuelan Government cannot invoke derogation as a defense for its
behavior. In accordance with Article 4 of the ICCPR, a State party may derogate from its
obligations under Article 19, but only in time of public emergency.229 However, it may do so
only to the extent “strictly required by the exigencies of the situation” and “provided that such
measures are not inconsistent with their other obligations under international law.”230
Additionally, any restrictions must be limited to the needs of the situation and cease as soon as
227
Id. at 171.
Indictment, supra note 161, at 173-75.
229
ICCPR, supra note 203, at Article 4(1).
230
Id.
228
38
the state of emergency no longer exists.231 Finally, the State party must inform other State
parties to the ICCPR immediately of any such derogation.232
Here, derogation is not applicable because there is no public emergency, and even if there
had been, Venezuela has not informed other State parties of a desire to derogate. Furthermore,
and assuming arguendo, such derogation would be impermissible because it would be
inconsistent with Venezuela’s other international legal obligations and would still result in the
continued illegal treatment of López in violation of his rights under Article 14.
In short, the speech Leopoldo López engaged in is fully protected by international and
Venezuelan law. The Government has unsuccessfully attempted to invoke the public order
exception by failing to demonstrate how López’s speech directly and immediately posed a threat
to public order and why his imprisonment is necessary to maintain public order. The
Government also fails to invoke derogation. Therefore, the imprisonment of Leopoldo López is
a violation of his right to freedom of opinion and expression as guaranteed by Articles 19 of the
ICCPR and UDHR.
2.
The Venezuelan Government Arrested and Imprisoned Leopoldo López Because He
Exercised His Right to Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Venezuelan Government’s arrest and detention of López is punishment for
exercising his right to freedoms of peaceful assembly and association as protected by Articles
21233 and 22(1)234 of the ICCPR and Article 20 of the UDHR.235 The Venezuelan Constitution
further guarantees these rights. Article 68236 gives citizens “the right to demonstrate, peacefully
and without weapons” and Article 67237 provides citizens “the right of association for political
purposes.” López’s arrest at a peaceful political protest unquestionably violated these rights.
Although both ICCPR Articles 21 and 22 provide exceptions for national security, public safety
and public order,238 the same tests that apply to restrictions on freedom of expression apply to
these rights as well,239 and for the same reasons, they have neither been invoked nor met.
231
Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 29 (2001) on Article 4: Derogations During a State of
Emergency, Aug. 31, 2001 (adopted at 1950th meeting on Jul. 24, 2001), CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.11) at ¶ 5.
232
ICCPR, supra note 203, at Article 4(3).
233
ICCPR, supra note 203, at Article 21 (“The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may
be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary
in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the
protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others”).
234
ICCPR, supra note 203, at Article 22(1) (“Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others,
including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests”).
235
Universal Declaration, supra note 206, at Article 20 (“(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly
and association. (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association”).
236
Venezuelan Constitution, supra note 204, at Article 68; see also Venezuelan Constitution supra note 204, at
Article 23.
237
Venezuelan Constitution, supra note 204, at Article 67; see also Venezuelan Constitution supra note 204, at
Article 23.
238
See supra note 233. See also ICCPR, supra note 203, at Article 22(2) (“No restrictions may be placed on the
exercise of this right other than those which are prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society
in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or
39
3.
The Venezuelan Government Arrested and Imprisoned Leopoldo López Because He
Exercised His Right to Take Part in Public Affairs and Be Elected Without Unreasonable
Restrictions
The Venezuelan Government’s arrest and detention of López is also punishment for
exercising his right to take part in public affairs and be elected without unreasonable restrictions
as protected by Article 25240 of the ICCPR and Article 21241 of the UDHR. This right is also
protected in the Venezuelan Constitution.242 According to the Human Rights Committee, the
right allows “[c]itizens … [to] take part in the conduct of public affairs by exerting influence
through public debate and dialogue with their representatives or through their capacity to
organize themselves. This participation is supported by ensuring the freedoms of expression,
assembly and association.”243 Moreover, this right depends on the ability of individuals to run
for office. As the Human Rights Committee has noted:
The effective implementation of the right and the opportunity to stand for elective
office ensures that persons entitled to vote have a free choice of candidates …
Persons who are otherwise eligible to stand for election should not be excluded by
unreasonable or discriminatory requirements such as education, residence or
descent, or by reason of political affiliation. No person should suffer
discrimination or disadvantage of any kind because of that person’s candidacy.244
morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful
restrictions on members of the armed forces and of the police in their exercise of this right”).
239
Sarah Joseph, et al., THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS 426-427 (2000)
[hereinafter The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights] (citing to Siracusa Principles on the
Limitation and Derogation Provisions in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1985) 7 HRQ 1
“which indicates that all limitation clauses in the ICCPR are to be interpreted in the same way with regard to each
right.”)
240
ICCPR, supra note 203, at Article 25 (“Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the
distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions: (a) To take part in the conduct of public
affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections
which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of
the will of the electors; (c) To have access, on general terms of equality, to public service in his country”).
241
Universal Declaration, supra note 206, at Article 21 (“(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government
of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public
service in his country. (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be
expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by
secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures”).
242
Venezuelan Constitution, supra note 204, at Article 62 (“All citizens have the right to participate freely in public
affairs, either directly or through their elected representatives”) (emphasis added); see also Venezuelan Constitution
supra note 204, at Article 23.
243
Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 25 (1996), CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.7 at ¶ 8 (emphasis added)
[hereinafter General Comment 25].
244
Comment 25, supra note 243, at ¶ 15 (emphasis added).
40
In addition, the Working Group jurisprudence supports this right; a violation of Article 25 occurs
where individuals are detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of association and the
right to take part in the conduct of public affairs.245
Here, as discussed above in Section A(4) and below in Appendix I, the Government has
repeatedly violated López’s political rights so as to remove him as a political opponent. His
current arrest and detention is simply the latest in a series of political persecutions that is illegal
and in violation of Venezuelan’s obligations under international law. His detention on these
grounds is therefore illegal.
B.
The Trial and Detention of Leopoldo López Failed to Respect International Norms
Relating to the Right to a Fair Trial Guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Leopoldo López is being held arbitrarily in violation of his due process rights. The
ICCPR and UDHR, and Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of
Detention or Imprisonment provide the Petitioner with the right to a fair trial, which Venezuela is
denying him, and in the process of doing so, is also violating Venezuelan law providing for due
process protections.
It is considered an arbitrary detention “[w]hen the total or partial non-observance of the
international norms relating to the right to a fair trial, established in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and in the relevant international instruments accepted by the States concerned, is
of such gravity as to give the deprivation of liberty an arbitrary character.”246 Because the trial
and ongoing detention of López has failed to observe the minimum international norms relating
to a fair trial, as contained in the ICCPR, UDHR, and Body of Principles his detention is
arbitrary.
1.
The Venezuelan Government Failed to Provide Leopoldo López an Independent and
Impartial Judiciary
ICCPR Article 14(1) affords individuals “a fair and public hearing by a competent,
independent and impartial tribunal established by law.”247 This right is further guaranteed by
Venezuela’s constitution.248 Despite these de jure protections, the Human Rights Committee
245
See Tran Thi Thuy et al. v. Government of Viet Nam, Opinion No. 46/2011, adopted Sept. 2, 2011, ¶¶ 21, 22, 26.
See Revised Methods of Work, supra note 201.
247
ICCPR, supra note 203, at art. 14(1) (“All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals. In the
determination of any criminal charge against him, or of his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be
entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law… .”).
This same right is established by the Universal Declaration Article 10: “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair
and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of
any criminal charge against him.”
248
See Venezuelan Constitution supra note 204; see also Organization of American States, Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela, Dec. 30, 2009 (noting that, “The State
of Venezuela has said that the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela provides the mechanisms
necessary to ensure the independence of the branches of government. Specifically, Title IV, ‘Public Power,’
establishes the independence of the country’s branches of government and, in the rationale section, sets forth the
246
41
recently stated its clear views about the lack of independence in Venezuela’s judiciary, in facts
very similar to López’s situation. In a prominent case249 regarding Venezuelan petitioner Eligio
Cedeño, it found:
[T]he judicial authorities who heard the case were not independent because the
State party has imposed a system of provisional judges who are not secure in their
positions and who can be removed at will without any predefined procedure; and
that those who do not follow instructions from the executive branch are subject to
reprisals250 . . . The Committee recalls that States should take specific measures to
guarantee the independence of the judiciary, protect judges from any form of
political influence, and establish clear procedures and objective criteria for the
appointment, remuneration, tenure, promotion, suspension and dismissal of the
members of the judiciary and for disciplinary sanctions against them. A situation
where the functions and competencies of the judiciary and the executive branches
are not clearly distinguishable or where the latter is able to control or direct the
former is incompatible with the notion of an independent tribunal. The
Committee finds that the arrest of the judge presiding over [the case] suggests a
possible link with the wishes of the executive branch, in view of the public
statements made by the President of the Republic in relation to the arrest … In
view of this, together with the provisional nature of the judicial authorities
involved in the proceedings against the author, the Committee concludes that in
the case at hand the State party violated the independence of the judicial bodies
involved and article 14, paragraph 1, of the Covenant.251
Furthermore, during Venezuela’s most recent Universal Periodic Review252 before the Human
Rights Council, numerous member states urged Venezuela to reform its judiciary to make it
independent and free of political influence.253 Despite the reasonable nature of the proposals,
Venezuela rejected the vast majority of the suggested improvements.254
principle of restrictive competence, whereby those agencies that wield public power may only perform those
functions expressly assigned to them by the Constitution and by law)” [hereinafter OAS 2009 Venezuela Report].
249
Cedeño v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Communication No. 1940/2010, U.N. Doc.
CCPR/C/106/D/1940/2010 (2012) [hereinafter Cedeño v. Venezuela].
250
Id. at ¶ 7.2 (emphasis added).
251
Id. at ¶ 7.3 (emphasis added).
252
Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Venezuela,
A/HRC/60/1, Dec. 7, 2011 [hereinafter Venezuela 2011 UPR].
253
Venezuela 2011 UPR, supra note 252, at ¶¶ 57, 88, 89, 90.
254
For an list of the rejected improvements, see Venezuela 2011 UPR, supra note 252, at ¶¶ 96.1 (Comply with its
international obligations in respect to the judiciary and the right to freedom of expression and implement
recommendations, resolutions and decisions of the international and regional human rights protection systems),
96.13 (Respect the independence of the judiciary), 96.14 (Work to ensure the independence of the judiciary), 96.15
(Guarantee the independence of judiciary and take all the necessary measures to combat impunity), 96.16 (Ensure
independent, open and transparent selection procedures based on merit for judges and prosecutors), 96.17 (Take
necessary measures to ensure transparency in the independent appointment of judicial and prosecutorial officers),
96.18 (Reinforce the independence of the judiciary by increasing institutional and material support for the justice
system and putting an end to the provisional nature of judicial appointments), 96.19 (Fully guarantee the
independence of the judiciary, in particular by taking concrete measures to ensure that judges can exercise their
42
Similarly, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights255 has repeatedly found
violations in Venezuela,256 including: the way judges and prosecutors are appointed,257 their lack
of independence and impartiality,258 political interference in the removal of judges,259 and the
delegation of legislative powers to the executive branch.260 Of particular concern was
information IACHR became aware of in April 2012, where the former president of the Criminal
Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court, Eladio Aponte Aponte, “referred to the workings of
the judicial branch in Venezuela and said that while he had served in the judiciary he would
receive instructions from senior government officials on decisions in cases under his
cognizance.”261
Numerous international human rights groups have conveyed serious concern about
Venezuela’s judicial system. In their annual country reports, Amnesty International262 and
Freedom House263 both called into question the independence of the judiciary. In its 2014 report
on Venezuela, Human Rights Watch echoed this sentiment, noting that:
[Because] … President Chávez and his supporters in the National Assembly
conducted a political takeover of the Supreme Court in 2004, the judiciary has
largely ceased to function as an independent branch of government. Members of
the Supreme Court have openly rejected the principle of separation of powers,
profession in full impartiality), 96.20 (Reinforce the independence of the judiciary, including bringing to an end the
provisional nature of judicial appointments and repealing the provisions of the Supreme Court law that undermine
the court’s independence), 96.21 (Abolish the practice of using the judicial system to silence critics of the
Government, reinforce the independence of the judiciary by increasing institutional and material support for the
justice system and end the provisional nature of judicial appointments), 96.22 (Investigate allegations of executive
branch interference in judicial decision-making).
255
OAS 2009 Venezuela Report, supra note 248; Organization of American States, Annual Report of the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights 2011, Chapter IV: Venezuela [hereinafter OAS 2011 Venezuela Report];
Organization of American States, Annual Report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 2012,
Chapter IV: Venezuela [hereinafter OAS 2012 Venezuela Report]; Organization of American States, Annual Report
of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 2013, Chapter IV: Venezuela [hereinafter OAS 2013 Venezuela
Report].
256
OAS 2012 Venezuela Report, supra note 255, at § II(C).
257
OAS 2009 Venezuela Report, supra note 248, at 48; OAS 2013 Venezuela Report, supra note 255, at ¶¶ 645-648.
258
OAS 2009 Venezuela Report, supra note 248, at 59; OAS 2011 Venezuela Report, supra note 255, at § II(D); OAS
2013 Venezuela Report, supra note 255, at ¶ 642.
259
OAS 2009 Venezuela Report, supra note 248, at 71; OAS 2011 Venezuela Report, supra note 255, at § II(D)(2);
OAS 2012 Venezuela Report, supra note 255, at ¶¶ 494-496. OAS 2013 Venezuela Report, supra note 255, at ¶¶ 633641, 657-660.
260
OAS 2009 Venezuela Report, supra note 248, at 80.
261
OAS 2012 Venezuela Report, supra note 255, at ¶ 449.
262
Amnesty International, 2012 Annual Report: Venezuela, https://www.amnesty.org/en/region/venezuela/report2012#section-30-6 (noting concern about Judge María Lourdes Afiuni, who has suffered various forms of arbitrary
detention since 2009 for ruling against the government).
263
Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2014: Venezuela, http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedomworld/2014/venezuela-0#.U1fguuZdXbY (noting that “Politicization of the judicial branch increased dramatically
under Chávez, and high courts generally do not rule against the government.” As such, “Venezuela received a
downward trend arrow due to an increase in the selective enforcement of laws and regulations against the opposition
in order to minimize its role as a check on government power”) (emphasis added).
43
publicly pledged their commitment to advancing the government’s political
agenda, and repeatedly ruled in favor of the government, validating the
government’s disregard for human rights.264
This high-level concern with the lack of an independent and impartial judiciary in
Venezuela was quickly exemplified in the current proceedings against López. The judge
originally appointed to López’s case, Judge Ralenys Tovar Guillén, is not a permanently
appointed judge. Furthermore, the phone messages leaked by the Spanish-language station
Nuestra Tele Noticias 24 Horas, where Judge Tovar expressed to a friend that she had to “choose
between keeping my job or waking up fired”265 clearly demonstrates the symbiotic relationship
between the judiciary branch and the executive—where President Maduro has made clear his
desire to imprison López a year ago well in advance of the protests. The second and third judges
appointed to López’s criminal case, Judge Adriana López and Judge Susana Barreiros, are also
temporarily appointed judges. In addition, the ICCPR assumes that a judge may only act with
legal authority of the State. Judge Tovar held a hearing and issued a ruling on López’s
indictment in a location outside of her authority – in a mobile courtroom sitting outside her
geographical jurisdiction – in violation of Venezuelan law. Finally, there is also an inherent
conflict of interest because the prosecutors are charged with carrying out the investigation and
prosecution while simultaneously claiming to be the victim. Because López is imprisoned by
and will be tried by Venezuela’s judicial system, which is neither independent nor impartial,
López is not receiving a fair judicial process and his detention is therefore arbitrary.
2.
The Venezuelan Government Failed to Afford Leopoldo López the Presumption of
Innocence
ICCPR affords individuals “the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty
according to law.”266 The Human Rights Committee has noted that the presumption of
innocence is expressed in unambiguous terms, and “the burden of proof of the charge is on the
prosecution and the accused has the benefit of doubt. No guilt can be presumed until the charge
has been proved beyond reasonable doubt. Further, the presumption of innocence implies a right
to be treated in accordance with this principle. It is, therefore, a duty for all public authorities to
refrain from prejudging the outcome of a trial.”267 The Venezuelan Constitution also enshrines
this right.268
In the present case, multiple public authorities used inflammatory language in public,
labeling López as being responsible for the violence that occurred on February 12, 2014, in
addition to the greater unrest Venezuela is currently facing. This language made clear that the
outcome of López’s case had been pre-determined, even before a preliminary investigation had
264
World Report 2014, supra note 75; see also Punished for Protesting, supra note 88.
Supra note 147.
266
ICCPR, supra note 203. This same right is established by the Universal Declaration Article 11(1): “Everyone
charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public
trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.”
267
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, supra note 239, at 308 (emphasis added).
268
Venezuelan Constitution, supra note 204, at Article 49(2) (“Any person shall be presumed innocent until proven
otherwise”); see also Venezuelan Constitution supra note 204, at Article 23.
265
44
been completed. Venezuela’s Foreign Minister, Elías Jaua, labeled Leopoldo López as the
“intellectual author” of the killings that took place on February 12, 2014.269 Minister Jaua also
stated in a television interview that López “directed a well trained group of followers toward the
national prosecutor’s office, and once he had left the demonstrators began a coordinated and
massive attack …We can no longer tolerate that this group … bath[es] the Venezuelan people
with blood.”270 On the very night of the February 12 protests, President Maduro stated that
López and other opposition leaders were fugitives who “should go behind bars.”271 Upon
resumption of the trial on July 23, President Maduro again made it clear that he believes López
to be guilty and a criminal, saying he has a “crazy messianic vision” and is “responsible of
crimes, violence, and destruction of human lives that he planned . . .”272 On November 17,
Maduro referred to López as “the murderer of Ramo Verde” even though López has never been
charged with murder.273
Given these above statements, it is abundantly clear that López has been considered
guilty before his indictment was even presented. When these statements are coupled with the
lack of an independent judiciary, it is clear that López’s right to be presumed innocent by the
judicial system is being violated.
3.
The Venezuelan Government Failed to Provide Leopoldo López with the Right to Present
His Defense
The Venezuelan Constitution enshrines the right of a defendant to legal defense.274
Similarly, under the ICCPR, a defendant must be allowed “to defend himself in person or
through legal assistance of his own choosing.”275 In practice, this means that “(t)he accused or
his lawyer must have the right to act diligently and fearlessly in pursuing all available
defenses.”276 Because Leopoldo López has not been allowed to present evidence in support of
his case, he cannot properly present a defense, particularly when the prosecution has been
allowed to present all its evidence. An acceptance of almost 100% of the prosecution evidence
when almost all of the defense evidence has been rejected can hardly afford the defense a fair
opportunity to respond to the claims made by the prosecution.
In addition, the ICCPR specifically guarantees a defendant the right “to obtain the
attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses
against him.”277 While a defendant does not have an unrestricted or unlimited right to call
269
Venezuela: Violence Against Protesters, Journalists, supra note 108.
Prominent Opposition Leader in Venezuela is Blamed for Unrest, supra note 125.
271
This Politician is a Wanted Man in Venezuela After Leading Anti-Government Protests This Week, supra note
128.
272
Lopez Defense Team, supra note 135.
273
Maduro Attacks López, supra note 136.
274
Venezuelan Constitution supra note 204, at Article 49(1).
275
ICCPR, supra note 203, at Article 14(3)(d).
276
Office of the High Comm’r for Human Rights, United Nations, General Comment No. 13: Equality Before the
Courts and the Right to a Fair and Public Hearing by an Independent Court Established by Law (Art. 14), Apr. 13,
1984 at ¶11 [hereinafter General Comment 13].
277
ICCPR, supra note 203, at Article 14(3)(e).
270
45
witnesses of his choosing, the courts must ensure “equality of rights to call witnesses as between
the defense and the prosecution.”278 Again, an acceptance of only two out of 60 proposed
defense witnesses when 82 witnesses and 16 additional expert witnesses have been allowed for
the prosecution demonstrates dramatic unequal access to the right to call witnesses between the
prosecution and the defense.
The decision to exclude virtually all defense evidence while admitting all the evidence
offered by the prosecutor also shows a clear deprivation of Leopoldo López’s ability to offer a
fair defense, without even granting a pretense of respecting his due process rights or providing a
fair trial. This represents a blatant disregard for López’s due process rights and the integrity of
the judicial process.
4.
The Venezuelan Government Failed to Provide the Right to AttorneyClient Confidentiality
The ICCPR states unequivocally that the accused “should be able to have recourse to a
lawyer” and further “requires counsel to communicate with the accused in conditions giving full
respect for the confidentiality of their communications. Lawyers should be able to counsel and
to represent their clients in accordance with their established professional standards and
judgment without any restrictions, influences, pressures or undue interference from any
quarter.”279 The Human Rights Committee280 has also discussed the importance of attorneyclient confidentiality,281 with both bodies finding that, in maintaining the right to a fair trial, the
ability of lawyers and their clients to communicate in private is of paramount importance. The
Venezuelan Constitution also provides this right to its citizens.282
In this case, the Government has violated López’s right to communicate confidentially
with his attorneys. López’s attorneys are physically searched and all of their documents are read
upon entering the prison. Furthermore, López is not afforded private meetings with his attorney.
Attorney-client meetings only may take place in López’s cell, where a guard is always present
within earshot of their conversations. Thus, López is unable to have confidential conversations
with his legal counsel in violation of ICCPR.
278
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, supra note 239, at 325.
General Comment 13, supra note 276.
280
Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 32, Article 14: Right to equality before courts and tribunals
and to a fair trial, CCPR/C/GC/32 (2007) at V (“Counsel should be able to meet their clients in private and to
communicate with the accused in conditions that fully respect the confidentiality of their communications”).
281
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Communication Addressed to the Government on March 16, 2009,
Decision No. 27/2009, Adopted Nov. 24, 2009 (noting that “in order to determine whether a detention is arbitrary or
not, a number of critical procedural safeguards need to be confirmed by the Government. For instance, the Working
Group has not received an unequivocal confirmation that the three detainees were arrested pursuant to a warrant;
that they had access to a lawyer; that they were able to have private meetings with their lawyer…”).
282
Venezuelan Constitution, supra note 204, at Article 48 (“The secrecy and inviolability of private communications
in all forms are guaranteed. The same may not be interfered with except by order of a competent court, with
observance of applicable provisions of law and preserving the secrecy of the private issues unrelated to the pertinent
proceedings”); see also Venezuelan Constitution supra note 204, at Article 23.
279
46
C.
The Extended Solitary Confinement of Leopoldo López Violates the Prohibition Against
Torture
Under both the ICCPR and the UDHR, “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”283 The Human Rights Committee has said that
“Prolonged solitary confinement . . .. may amount to acts prohibited by article 7.” While there
is no universal definition of solitary confinement, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture defines
it as “the physical and social isolation of individuals who are confined to their cells for 22 to 24
hours a day.”284 Prolonged solitary confinement is generally that which is over 15 days, as
beyond this point solitary confinement can have a permanent psychological impact.285 Leopoldo
López spent his first ninety days in prison in complete isolation twenty-four hours a day.
Although he was allowed some visits from family members or lawyers, these also took place in
his cell. Since then he is allowed one hour of solitary exercise per day, but remains in his cell in
isolation for twenty-three hours per day. These conditions have been ongoing since February
2014, more than constituting a period of “prolonged solitary confinement.”
Additional features of López’s solitary confinement cause the mistreatment to amount to
torture. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has said: “[c]onsidering the severe mental pain
or suffering solitary confinement may cause, it can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment when used as a punishment, during pretrial detention,
[or] indefinitely.”286 All three of these features are present in López’s case. Periods of absolute
isolation have been imposed six different times as punishment for writing letters, the presence of
journalists at the prison, a phone call, protesting the poor conditions of the prison, the
outspokenness of his wife, and the holding of a sign outside his window thanking the UN for
urging the release of Venezuela’s political prisoners. In addition, López has been deprived of his
allowed hour of exercise on various occasions as a form of “punishment.” This solitary
confinement has also been imposed during pretrial detention and continuously, with no given end
date.
Venezuela is also a party to the Convention against Torture (CAT).287 The Committee
against Torture has recommended that the use of solitary confinement be abolished except in
exceptional circumstances, and even then should be subject to judicial and legal regulation and
oversight.288 These exception circumstances include “when the safety of persons or property is
involved.” The Government has not shown how keeping López under indefinite, constant
solitary conditions is necessary to protect the safety of persons or property. Furthermore, the
Committee has expressed particular concern regarding the use of solitary confinement during
283
ICCPR, supra note 203, at Article 7; Universal Declaration, supra note 206, at Article 5.
Interim Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, A/66/268, Aug. 5, 2011, at ¶25.
285
Id. at ¶26.
286
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Calls for Prohibition of Solitary Confinement, United Nations, Oct. 18, 2011,
available at http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11506&.
287
United Nations Treaty Status: CAT, https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?mtdsg_no=IV9&chapter=4&lang=en (noting that Venezuela signed the treaty on Feb. 15, 1985, and ratified it on Jul. 29, 1991).
288
Committee against Torture, Report to the General Assembly: Concluding Observations, Denmark,
A/52/44(SUPP) (1997) at ¶181-186.
284
47
pre-trial detention or for disciplinary reasons. As noted previously, López’s solitary confinement
has been imposed in a punitive manner, and has been ongoing during pre-trial detention. This
represents an unjustified and improper use of solitary confinement, and constitutes torture under
the ICCPR, UDHR, and CAT. Additionally, the degrading, unjustifiable, and grotesque incident
where prison guards swung excrement-filled plastic bags from the roof into López’s cell was
treatment that constitutes cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment.289
In response to these inhumane conditions, López’s legal team has submitted complaints
to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and to the United Nations Committee
Against Torture. On November 6th, 2014, the Government of Venezuela appeared before
Committee Against Torture for the first time in twelve years. While the Government vigorously
denied any of the accusations concerning torture or inhumane conditions of prisoners, the
committee expressed concern that “only 12 public officials have been convicted for human rights
violations over the last decade, even though there have been more than 5,000 complaints.”
Furthermore, members of the Committee urged Venezuela to invite the UN Special Rapporteur
on Torture to the country, and questioned the fact that none of the requests to conduct a visit
submitted by eight UN Special Rapporteurs have been accepted by Venezuela.290
VI.
Opinion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was established by Resolution 1991/42
of the former Commission on Human Rights. Its mandate was clarified and extended in
successive resolutions of the Commission and later the successor Human Rights Council, most
recently by Resolution 24/7 of September 26, 2013. The Working Group consists of five
independent experts, appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, that serve in their individual
capacities. The current membership of the Working Group includes representatives of Benin,
Mexico, Norway, South Korea, and Ukraine.
In addition to conducting country visits and producing annual reports, the Working
Group is the only one of the UN Special Procedures that adjudicates individual cases. After
received a complaint from a petitioner (referred to as the “source”), the government against
whom the complaint is made is given 60 days to respond. If a response is received, the petitioner
is given the opportunity to reply. The case is then considered at the next tri-annual session of the
Working Group, at which point an opinion may be adopted.
After the Government of Venezuela detained López, local counsel submitted a complaint
to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The complaint recounted much of the
information contained in this White Paper. The Government of Venezuela responded to the
complaint alleging as it did in its indictment that López “personally incited hate and violence,
creating a situation of tension and aggressiveness that unleashed a wave of violence nationwide.”
289
Isolating and Punishing Political Prisoners in Ramo Verde, supra note 192.
UN Questions Venezuela Over Alleged Cases of Torture Against Dissenters, EL UNIVERSAL, Nov. 6, 2014,
available at http://english.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141106/un-questions-venezuela-over-alleged-casesof-torture-against-dissenter.
290
48
In response, López’s counsel reaffirmed that the Government did not contradict most of the
evidence that had been put forward and answered other charges point by point.291
In its deliberations, the Working Group began by noting that the Government of
Venezuela didn’t contradict López’s claims that he had been subject to 20 legal processes
involving sanctions, including being forbidden from running for public office, which had later
been found illegal by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Furthermore, the Working
Group notes that the Government did not explain what damages were caused by López, what
expressions motivated these grave events or inducted their commission, nor did it specific what
illegal associations that he had.292
Furthermore, the Working Group concluded that López’s participation in the march of
February 12, 2014, doesn’t justify the deprivation of liberty of a speaker or participant: “There
are no elements that allow the concluding of a cause and effect relationship between the call for a
political demonstration, speaking during the same demonstration, and the resulting deaths,
wounds, and material damage.” It also noted that López’s detention in a military prison “seems
based on a motive of discrimination on the basis of his political opinions.”293
In conclusion:
58. The Working Group considers that the deprivation of Mr. Leopoldo López’s
liberty, with the objective of restricting his political rights and by his being detained
in a military prison, as well as his exercising his rights to freedom of thought and
opinion, expression, association and politics, enshrined in Articles 18, 19, 20, and
21 of the International Covenant on Civil Rights and Political and in Articles 9,10,
18 to 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is arbitrary under
Category II of the Group's methods of work.
59. The arrest of Mr. López on February 18 2014, having been executed without
order from a judicial authority; having been extended for a period of more than six
months; having exposed Mr. López to isolation; not having granted Mr. López
provisional freedom subject to bail if necessary; and having imposed obstacles
to the defense lawyers, including the censorship of their communications with the
detainee, affects the right to a fair and impartial trial, the presumption of innocence,
and due process. The foregoing constitutes a serious violation of the rules concerning
the right to a fair trial contained in Articles 9 and 14 of the referred International
Covenant.294
As a result, the Working Group recommended that the Government of Venezuela
“immediately free” López, grant him “comprehensive reparation, including compensation of his
291
Leopoldo López v. Venezuela, Opinion No. 26/2014, UN WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION,
A/HRC/WGAD/2014/26, Adopted Aug. 26, 2014, at ¶¶ 36, 37-45.
292
Id. at ¶¶ 51-52.
293
Id. at ¶¶ 54-55.
294
Id.
49
moral and compensatory character,” and “measures of satisfaction,” which could be a “public
statement of apology in his favor.”295
It is interesting to note that when the Government of Venezuela withdrew from the InterAmerican Convention of Human Rights on September 6, 2012, it claimed that it was doing so
because of perceived bias of the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights. It
also noted, however, that it “remains committed to increasing its cooperation with the Human
Rights Council.”296 Not surprisingly, however, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Rafael Ramírez
rejected the Working Group opinion out of hand stating: “All the judgments that are in
development on the basis of acts of violence that occurred at the beginning of this year, have
their course within the framework of our laws . . . Just as we demand respect for our sovereign
decisions and oil policy, we demand respect across the line of action.”297
Judge Barreiros officially rejected the decision of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention on the basis that “Venezuela is a sovereign country that does not accept interferences
on internal matters.”298 This decision followed similarly dismissive statements made by
Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz who said “How can one say that there is an arbitrary
detention in this case if he [López] handed himself over to the authorities? No one stopped him,
he surrendered six days after his capture was ordered.”299
VII.
International Support
International Organizations:
“The prolonged and arbitrary detention of political opponents and protestors in Venezuela is
causing more and more concern internationally . . . I call on the Venezuelan authorities to act on
the opinion[] of the Working Group and immediately release Mr. López . . . as well as all those
detained for exercising their legitimate right to express themselves and protest peacefully.” –
Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights300
“It recommends to the Government of . . . Venezuela that it immediately free . . . Leopoldo
López and grant comprehensive reparation, including the compensation of his moral and
compensatory character, as well as measures of satisfaction, which could be a public statement of
apology in his favor.” – United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention301
295
Id. at ¶ 60.
Letter From Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela to Secretary-General of the Organization of American
States, Sept. 6, 2012.
297
Venezuela Rejects UN Resolution on the Case of Leopoldo López, EL NACIONAL, Oct. 10, 2014.
298
Edgar López, Jueza negó liberación de López pedida por la ONU, EL NACIONAL, Nov. 14, 2014, available at
available at http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/Jueza-liberacion-Lopez-pedida-ONU_0_518948357.html.
299
Judge Rejects UN Decision, supra note 182.
300
UN Human Rights Chief Urges Venezuela to Release Arbitrarily Detained Protests and Politicians, UNITED
NATIONS OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, Oct. 20, 2014, available at
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=15187&LangID=E.
301
Leopoldo López v. Venezuela, Opinion No. 26/2014, UN WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION,
A/HRC/WGAD/2014/26, Adopted Aug. 26, 2014, at ¶ 60.
296
50
“The opposition cannot have a seat at the table, as long as so many of their leaders are
imprisoned, and even if they wouldn’t want to have a dialogue, they are the opposition and
should have the opportunity… Venezuela is clearly a divided country, a country divided in half.
If these halves do not come together, appalling results will follow for years to come. We have
learned this in a terrible way, and paid a high price.” – Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary-General of
the Organization of American States302
“The State party should adopt without delay effective measures to restrict the number of
individuals detained at the scene of the crime, and that, according to the views of the Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention, release immediately Leopoldo López . . . and all those who have
been arbitrarily detained for exercising their right to speak out and protest peacefully. Likewise,
the State must guarantee the enjoyment, from the beginning of the deprivation of liberty, of all
the fundamental legal guarantees.” – United Nations Committee Against Torture303
“I am seriously worried about the continuing climate of confrontation in the country and the
continuing arbitrary detentions and arrests of leaders of the opposition and of students . . . We
continue to monitor certain cases, including that of Leopoldo López and the four students
detained at the same time.” – Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union
for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy304
“[We] call on the Venezuelan authorities to immediately release Antonio Ledezma, Leopoldo
López, Daniel Ceballos and all peaceful protesters, students, and opposition leaders arbitrarily
detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression and their fundamental rights.” –
European Parliament305
“Pleased to meet Lilian Tintori to urge release of husband Leopoldo Lopez and all political
prisoners in Venezuela.” – Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament306
“Be it resolved that the Subcommittee condemns the arbitrary and illegal detention and
imprisonment of Mr. López and the violations of his fundamental freedoms and rights to a fair
trial as guaranteed under international law and the Venezuelan constitution… [and] calls for the
release of Leopoldo López . . . and all political prisoners in the country.” – Subcommittee on
International Human Rights of the House of Commons of Canada.307
302
Insulza Dice Que La Oposición No Puede Dialogar Si Tiene Dirigentes Presos, EL UNIVERSAL, Sept. 26, 2014,
available at http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/140926/insulza-dice-que-la-oposicion-no-puededialogar-si-tiene-dirigentes-pr.
303
UN Committee Against Torture Final Report on Venezuela, supra note 183.
304
UE "seriamente preocupada" por detenciones arbitrarias en Venezuela, EL UNIVERSAL, Dec. 10, 2014, available
at http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/141219/ue-seriamente-preocupada-por-detenciones-arbitrariasen-venezuela.
305
European Parliament Resolution on the Situation in Venezuela, 2015/2582(RSP), EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
Adopted Mar. 12, 2015, at ¶ 1.
306
Tweet by President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz — Dec. 16, 2014, available at
https://twitter.com/EP_President/status/544769096261591040.
307
House of Commons Subcommittee on International Human Rights Condemn Venezuela’s Arbitrary and Illegal
Detention and Imprisonment of Opposition Leader Leopoldo López, SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL HUMAN
RIGHTS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA, Adopted Nov. 27, 2014.
51
“The international community should demand López's immediate release . . . The arrest is an
egregious violation of one of the basic principles of due process, that you can't jail someone
without evidence.” – Human Rights Watch308
“Leopoldo López, leader of the Venezuelan opposition party Voluntad Popular, should be
immediately released in compliance with an August 2014 call by the UN Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention.” – Amnesty International309
“Opposition leader Leopoldo López and others are still imprisoned and Caracas Mayor Antonio
Ledezma was arrested in February 2015. Their detention has become a rallying point for the
opposition.” – Council on Foreign Relations310
“What is needed includes . . . the immediate freeing of Antonio Ledezma, Leopoldo López and
all those currently imprisoned for political activities.” – International Crisis Group311
Public Personalities:
“From Russia to China to Venezuela, you are seeing relentless crackdowns, vilifying legitimate
dissent as subversive . . . We stand in solidarity with those who are detained at this very moment.
In Venezuela, Leopoldo López . . . And so many others. They deserve to be free. They ought to
be released.” – US President Barack Obama312
“We are concerned with the latest developments [in Venezuela]. We have expressed— publicly
and privately— our desire that the rights of opponents are respected. We have even called for
the release of Leopoldo López.” – Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos313
“We demand the immediate release of all of the political prisoners [in Venezuela], among them
the democratic leader Leopoldo Lopez and mayors Antonio Ledezma and Daniel Ceballos.” –
former Presidents: Nicolas Arbito Barletta (Panama), Oscar Arias (Costa Rica), Jose María
Aznar (Spain), Belisario Betancur (Colombia), Armando Calderón Sol (El Salvador), Felipe
Calderón (Mexico), Rafael Ángel Calderón (Costa Rica), Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rica), Alfredo
308
Merry Mogollon and Chris Kraul, Venezuela Opposition Leader Leopoldo Lopez Surrenders, Urges Protests,
LOS ANGELES TIMES, Feb. 18, 2014, available at http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-venezuela-opposition20140219-story.html.
309
Venezuela: Opposition Leader Leopoldo López Should Be Released, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, Nov. 4, 2014,
available at http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR53/023/2014/en.
310
Patrick Duddy, Political Crisis in Venezuela, THE CENTER FOR PREVENTATIVE ACTION, THE COUNCIL ON
FOREIGN RELATIONS, Mar. 2015.
311
Time for UNASUR to Defuse the Crisis in Venezuela, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP, Mar. 11, 2015, available at
http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/media-releases/2015/latin-america/statement-time-for-unasur-todefuse-the-crisis-in-venezuela.aspx.
312
Speech by U.S. President Obama at Clinton Global Initiative in New York, NY—Sept. 23, 2014, available at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/23/remarks-president-clinton-global-initiative.
313
Juan Manuel Santos pidió liberación de Leopoldo López y que se garantice el debido proceso a Ledezma,
NOTIHOY, Feb. 20, 2015, available at http://notihoy.com/juan-manuel-santos-pidio-liberacion-de-leopoldo-lopez-yque-se-garantice-el-debido-proceso-ledezma/.
52
Cristiani (El Salvador), Ernesto Duhalde (Argentina), Vincente Fox (Mexico), Felipe Gonzalez
(Spain), Lucio Guitiérrez (Ecuador), Osvaldo Hurtado (Ecuador), Luis Alberto Lacalle
(Uruguay), Luis Alberto Monge (Costa Rica), Mireya Moscoso (Panama), Andres Pastrana
(Colombia), Sebastián Piñera (Chile), Jorge Quiroga (Bolivia), Miguel Ángel Rodríguez (Costa
Rica), Alejandro Toledo (Peru), Álvaro Uribe (Colombia), and Juan Carlos Wasmosy
(Paraguay).314
“Leopoldo López, leader of an opposition party, has been abruptly deprived of his freedom and
indicted for various crimes, with a noticeably political bias…We condemn such acts and urge the
Venezuelan Government and all parties and political actors to establish a constructive discussion,
in accordance with the canons of democracy universally recognized and embodied in the InterAmerican Democratic Charter.” – Oscar Arias Sanchez (Costa Rica), Fernando Henrique
Cardoso (Brazil), Ricardo Lagos (Chile), and Alejandro Toledo (Peru), Former Presidents on
Behalf of the Club of Madrid315
“We have been witnessing with deep concern the ongoing weakening of the rule of law, the lack
of independence of public institutions, and the criminalization of freedom of expression in
Venezuela, all of which entail and represent serious human rights violations . . . On this
occasion, we have decided to adhere to the opinion of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
of the UN dated August 26, 2014, which recommends the immediate release of Mr. Leopoldo
López, leader of the Venezuelan opposition party Voluntad Popular, by the Government of the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's opinion
confirms our prior statements on the lack of compliance with democratic principles and the
respect for human rights in Venezuela." – Alejandro Toledo (Peru), Andres Pastrana (Colombia),
Luis Alberto LaCalle (Uruguay), Ricardo Lagos (Chile), Felipe Calderón (Mexico), Jorge
Quiroga (Bolivia) and Osvaldo Hurtado (Ecuador), Former Presidents on Behalf of the Club of
Madrid316
“With Lilian Tintori, concerned by Leopoldo López, prisoner in Venezuela. His freedom and
right to demonstrate are necessary.” – Spanish Prime Minister Marion Rajoy Brey317
314
Nicolas Arbito Barletta, Oscar Arias, Jose María Aznar, Belisario Betancur, Armando Calderón Sol, Felipe
Calderón, Rafael Ángel Calderón, Laura Chinchilla, Alfredo Cristiani, Ernesto Duhalde, Vincente Fox, Felipe
Gonzalez, Lucio Guitiérrez, Osvaldo Hurtado, Luis Alberto Lacalle, Luis Alberto Monge, Mireya Moscoso, Andres
Pastrana, Sebastián Piñera, Jorge Quiroga, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, Alejandro Toledo, Álvaro Uribe, and Juan
Carlos Wasmosy, Declaration of Panama about Venezuela from the Former Heads of Government and State, IDEA,
Apr. 9, 2015 available at http://perseus-strategies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Ex-Presidents-Declaration-ofPanama-about-Venezuela-1.pdf.
315
Oscar Arias Sánchez, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Ricardo Lagos, Alejandro Toledo, Declaración Conjunta,
CLUB OF MADRID, Mar. 10, 2014, available at
http://www.clubmadrid.org/es/noticia/el_club_de_madrid_se_adhiere_a_la_declaracion_sobre_venezuela_de_sus_m
iembros_arias_cardoso_lagos_y.
316
Felipe Calderón, Osvaldo Hurtado, Luis Alberto LaCalle, Ricardo Lagos, Andres Pastrana, Jorge Quiroga,
Alejandro Toledo, Declaración Conjunta, CLUB OF MADRID, Nov. 25, 2014, available at
http://www.voluntadpopular.com/index.php/ver-noticia/noticias/8-noticias/2128-expresidentes-del-mundo-piden-amaduro-cumplir-resolucion-de-onu-y-liberar-inmediatamente-a-leopoldo-lopez.
317
Tweet by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Brey—Oct. 22, 2014, available at
https://twitter.com/marianorajoy/status/524897980030402560.
53
“We call for the immediate release of Leopoldo López, the cessation of harassment against the
opposition and the restoration of plurality in the media and in electoral and judicial bodies.” –
Mario Vargas Llosa, Fernando Savater, Enrique Krauze, Rafael Cadenas, Moisés Naím, and 16
Others, public intellectuals318
“The Government repression against the legitimate exercise of the right to peaceful protest is
unjustifiable, unacceptable and outrageous . . . In particular, it should be a demand of
international democratic consciousness that the order of arrest for Leopoldo López is suspended.
Freedom is indivisible, and one cannot be free in his own country, if others are not free in
theirs.” – Sergio Ramírez, writer and former Vice President of Nicaragua, and Edmundo Jarquín,
Nicaraguan politician319
“Leopoldo López and the political prisoners in Venezuela should be released without delay.” –
Bill Clinton, former US President320
“Met Lilian Tintori to talk about freeing her husband Leopoldo López & Venezuela[n] political
prisoners.” – John Baird, Canadian Foreign Minister321
“Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López has today spent four months in custody. And
there is still not even a trial.” – Carl Bildt, Former Swedish Prime and Foreign Minister322
“The only head of state in Latin America who has met with President Maduro and asked
specifically for the release of Leopoldo Lopez has been President Bachelet. She did this as a
head of state, she made no fuss about it, but she did it. Now whether President Maduro will
listen to anyone, that's another subject.” – Jorge Tarud, Representative in the Parliament of
Chile323
“[We] request the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela, all those who for representing
democratic values or thinking differently have been deprived of their liberty…Our call for the
318
Mario Vargas Llosa, Enrique Krauze, Antonio Muñoz Molina and 17 others, Solidaridad con Venezuela, EL
PAIS, Aug. 6, 2014, available at http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/08/05/opinion/1407253359_026592.html.
319
Edmundo Jarquín and Sergio Ramírez, Declaración de Personalidades Nicaragüenses Sergio Ramírez y
Edmundo Jarquín sobre situación en Venezuela, FUNDACIÓN ARIAS PARA LA PAZ Y EL PROGRESO HUMANO, Feb. 18,
2014, available at http://arias.or.cr/declaracion-de-personalidades-nicaraguenses-sergio-ramirez-y-edmundojarquin-sobre-situacion-en-venezuela.
320
Tweet Former US President Bill Clinton—Feb. 19, 2015, available at
https://twitter.com/billclinton/status/568605975286026241.
321
Tweet by Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird—Nov. 25, 2014, available at
https://twitter.com/Baird/status/537405749060968448.
322
Tweet by Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt—Jun. 18, 2014, available at
https://twitter.com/carlbildt/status/479202454849208320.
323
Mario José Vega, Tarud Asegura que Bachelet Pidió a Maduro Liberar a Leopoldo López, 24 HORAS.CL, Mar. 3,
2015, available at http://www.24horas.cl/politica/tarud-asegura-que-bachelet-pidio-a-maduro-liberar-a-leopoldolopez-1596680.
54
release of Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma symbolizes this call for the release of
everyone.” – the Senate of Chile324
“We demand the release of all political prisoners in Venezuela, who as members of the
democratic opposition…have been captured by the government, as evident with opposition
leaders Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma.” - the Senate of Colombia325
“[We] demand the immediate release of the leader of Voluntad Popular, Leopoldo Lopez, the
Mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, the Mayor of San Cristobal, Daniel Ceballos, and other
members of the oppositions, students and demonstrators arbitrarily imprisoned in Venezuela in
the wake of the peaceful protests staged in January 2014.” – the House of Representatives of
Spain326
“The countries of UNASUR…have today an absolute interest in the liberation of political
prisoners in Venezuela…We don’t think the best relationship with the opposition is to imprison
anyone…if the person did not commit a crime, he should not be imprisoned.” – the President of
Brazil Dilma Rousseff327
“The imprisoning of the opposition is worrisome for when trying to strength the climate of
democracy, which we need in Latin America and in South America, things like this generate
much concern.” – the Foreign Minister of Uruguay, Rodolfo Nin Novoa328
“The situation of Leopoldo López, other political leaders, and university students detained
cannot pass unnoticed one minute more in the eyes of the international community. This case
has become the symbol of those who believe that it is not acceptable, under any circumstances,
to repress citizens for publicly expressing their political opinion, whatever it is, if it is consistent
with the Supreme values of freedom and democracy” – José Antonio Kast and 63 Others,
Representatives in the Parliament of Chile329
324
Senado Chileno Solicitó Liberación de Presos Politicos Venezoloanos, EL CARABOBEÑO, Apr. 14, 2015,
available at http://m.el-carabobeno.com/articles/show/102589.
325
Senado Exige liberación de Leopoldo López y Antonio Ledezma, EL TIEMPO, Apr. 15, 2105, available at
http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/congreso/piden-liberacion-de-leopoldo-lopez-y-antonio-ledezma/15576317.
326
El Congreso Pide la Liberación de los Opositores Venezolanos en Prisión, EL PAÍS, Apr. 15, 2015, available at
http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2015/04/14/actualidad/1429027060_434534.html.
327
Dilma Rousseff Cree que Nicolás Maduro Debe Librerar a los Presos Políticos, EL UNIVERSO, Apr. 9, 2015
available at http://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2015/04/09/nota/4751106/dilma-rousseff-cree-que-nicolas-madurodebe-liberar-presos.
328
Encarcalamiento de opositores en Venezuela es “preocupante”: Canciller Uruguay, REUTERS, Apr. 6, 2015,
available at http://lta.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idLTAKBN0MX13S20150406.
329
R. Alvarez, UDI Entrega Carta a Bachelet para que Intervenga por Violaciones a DD.HH en Venezuela, LA
TERCERA, Aug. 22, 2014, available at http://www.latercera.com/noticia/politica/2014/08/674-592522-9-udi-entregacarta-a-bachelet-para-que-intervenga-por-violaciones-a-ddhh-en.shtml.
55
“We demand the immediate, unconditional release of the prominent Venezuelan opposition
leader, Leopoldo Lopez.” – Representatives from the Parliaments of El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Nicaragua.330
“Yesterday’s sham trial is indicative of the corrupt judicial system in Venezuela that is being
used to silence freedom-loving individuals who seek justice,” – US Congresswomen Debbie
Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL)331
Media:
Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2014 for “upending the tactics of Venezuela’s loyal opposition.” –
Foreign Policy332
“International reactions to Mr. López’s arrest were swift. José Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights
Watch … said that the Venezuelan authorities had provided no evidence linking Mr. López to
any crime—just ‘insults and conspiracy theories.’” – The Economist333
“[López is] the most prominent face of the opposition, driving thousands of Venezuelans into the
streets to protest against food shortages, a stagnant economy, widespread crime and an
increasingly encroaching socialist government.” – Newsweek334
“Mr. López's trial, which began in July, is a travesty. The indictment bizarrely contends that Mr.
López, who peacefully called for Mr. Maduro's resignation, incited violence through ‘subliminal’
messages conveyed during public speeches demanding change that won him strong public
support. The judge in the case approved more than 100 witnesses for the prosecution and
rejected all but two defense witnesses. Mr. Maduro, who has called Mr. López an American
pawn, has told reporters ‘He has to pay, and he's going to pay,’ all but determining the outcome.”
– New York Times Editorial Board335
“Mr. López has been held in isolation on a military base. Now he is undergoing a trial that can
only be described as farcical. The government claims that Mr. López is somehow responsible
330
Diputados centroamericanos piden liberación de López y Ledezma, EL UNIVERSAL, Mar. 9, 2015, available at
http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150309/diputados-centroamericanos-piden-liberacion-de-lopez-yledezma/.
331
Joint Statement by U.S. Representatives, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Washington
DC—Jul. 24, 2014, available at http://ros-lehtinen.house.gov/press-release/joint-statement-us-reps-ileana-roslehtinen-and-debbie-wasserman-schultz-continuing.
332
Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2014, FOREIGN POLICY, Nov 2014, available at
http://globalthinkers.foreignpolicy.com/#challengers/detail/lopez.
333
A Tale of Two Prisoners, THE ECONOMIST, Feb. 22, 2014, available at
http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21596945-after-opposition-leader-arrested-violence-continues-unabatedtale-two-prisoners.
334
Karla Zabludovsky, Leopoldo López Gives Venezuela the Image of a Revolutionary Who Has It All, NEWSWEEK,
Feb. 21, 2014, available at http://www.newsweek.com/2014/02/28/leopoldo-lopez-gives-venezuela-imagerevolutionary-who-has-it-all-245568.html.
335
The Editorial Board, Venezuela’s Crackdown on Opposition, THE NEW YORK TIMES, Sept. 20, 2014, available at
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/21/opinion/sunday/venezuelas-crackdown-on-opposition.html.
56
for violent clashes in Caracas, even though he was not present when they took place and had
publicly called on his followers to remain peaceful. A judge has disallowed all but one of the
more than 60 witnesses he called, while scheduling more than 100 for the prosecution. As The
Post’s Nick Miroff recently reported, Mr. Maduro has already declared the trial’s outcome: “He
has to pay, and he will pay.” – Washington Post Editorial Board336
“In February of this year, the Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López was imprisoned by
the Chavez regime, accused — without any foundation . . . In the middle of [his]. . . custody by
an authoritarian Government, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the United Nations
made public a decision that not only expresses their objection to his detention, but also
recommends his immediate release . . . It is true that, more than presenting new information, the
decision confirms what we already knew: the trial of Leopoldo López is unfair and arbitrary . . .
To the irregularities denounced by the UN we could add many more. Well, what is at stake in the
case of Leopoldo López is now much more than the declaration of his innocence. López is
perhaps the most visible but not the only victim of the Venezuelan regime. Mr. Nicolás Maduro
and the rest of the ruling party are proving that they have no qualms in violating the human rights
of Venezuelans. We hope that, as the Working Group of Arbitrary Detention of the United
Nations opened its eyes to the case of Venezuela, their neighbors in Latin America may do the
same.” – El Comercio (Peru)337
“Mr. Maduro and government media are trying to portray Mr. López as an extremist, calling him
“the face of fascism” and alleging he was plotting a coup. In fact, the 42-year-old former mayor
is a left-leaning, Harvard-educated moderate who has proven over a decade that he is committed
to peaceful and democratic change.” – Washington Post Editorial Board338
“[Maduro] must drop the trumped-up charges that have turned Mr. López into South America’s
most prominent political prisoner.” – Miami Herald Editorial Board339
Conclusion
Leopoldo López’s ongoing detention is punishment for exercising his fundamental rights
to freedoms of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly, and to be elected and take part in
political affairs. In addition, his detention has also failed to meet international standards for due
process of law, including the right to be tried before an independent and impartial judiciary, the
right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the right to have confidential attorneyclient communications. Accordingly, and as confirmed by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
336
The Editorial Board, Venezuela Doesn’t Deserve a Seat on the U.N. Security Council, THE WASHINGTON POST,
Sept. 20, 2014, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/keep-venezuela-off-the-un-securitycouncil/2014/09/20/1e23f01e-3dcd-11e4-b0ea-8141703bbf6f_story.html.
337
The Editorial Board, Violación en Venezuela, EL COMERCIO, Oct. 10, 2014, available at
http://elcomercio.pe/opinion/editorial/editorial-violacion-venezuela-noticia-1761947.
338
The Editorial Board, Venezuela’s Neighbors Have to Work to Stem the Chaos, THE WASHINGTON POST, Feb. 18,
2014, available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/venezuelas-neighbors-have-to-work-to-stem-thechaos/2014/02/18/f0fedae0-98cc-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html.
339
The Editorial Board, Bad to Worse in Caracas, MIAMI HERALD, Jan. 22. 2015, available at
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article7951875.html
57
Detention, his detention is arbitrary as established by international law and he should be
immediately released from prison.
58
Appendix I – Overview of Past Political Persecution Against Leopoldo López by
Venezuelan Government: False Accusations and Disqualification to Exercise Political
Rights Without Due Process of Law
As discussed in the three sections below, López has been the victim of political
persecution at the hands of the Government. Its goal is to silence him for fear that his vision of a
democratic Venezuela will undermine the status quo and strip away the current administration’s
political power.
Despite being hailed as running the most transparent municipality in Venezuela by
Transparency International,340 López was banned from running for and holding a political
position for six years beginning in 2008. Though he acted appropriately, two administrative
actions found López administratively responsible for acts of corruption. Because these were
administrative proceedings, López was never tried nor convicted in any court of law. In 2011,
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a judgment finding that López’s
disqualification from political office was a violation of international law and ordered that he be
allowed to hold and run for office. However, the Supreme Justice Tribunal of Venezuela refused
to implement this ruling.
Furthermore, the Government filed charges against López in 2004 for an alleged
involvement in the attempted 2002 coup. All of these proceedings are without merit, however,
and are simply an attempt by the Government to remove López as an opposition figure.
Finally, in addition to these false court charges, there have been repeated attempts on
López’s life. In sum, these violent attacks against his person combined with the false charges
and court proceedings demonstrate that the Government views López as a political threat. It is
this past persecution which sets the context for the current charges.
1.
Leopoldo López Banned From Politics 2008-2014
Administrative Proceeding on Alleged “Conflict of Interest” while an Employee at Petróleos
de Venezuela S.A. (2004)
In 2004, Leopoldo López was banned from running for public office for three years due
to allegations that he improperly received public money in 1998. At the time in question, López
was employed within the Office of the Chief Economist at Petróleos de Venezuela S.A.
(“PDVSA”) as an Analyst of the National Environment.341 He was also a member of the Board
of Directors for the non-profit civil association Primero Justicia.342 López’s mother, Antonieta
340
Oslo Freedom Forum, supra note 18.
Case of López Mendoza v. Venezuela, Merits, Reparations, and Costs, Judgment, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No.
233, ¶ 40 (Sep. 1, 2011), available at http://www.corteidh.or.cr/docs/casos/articulos/seriec_233_ing.pdf [hereinafter
Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 233].
342
Id. at ¶ 40.
341
59
Mendoza de López, was a Manager of Public Affairs at División de PDVSA Petróleo y Gas, S.A.,
a subsidiary of PDVSA.343
It is common practice for PDVSA to donate money to local nonprofits. In 1998, the
PDVSA Board of Directors held a contest for nonprofits to apply to receive donations. Around
600 nonprofits applied, and PDVSA approved donations to over 200 organizations. Two
donations made in 1998 by PDVSA to the civil association Primero Justicia were cited in the
administrative action as reason for López’s ban. These donations were executed under an
agreement made between the Inter-American Foundation and PDVSA dated June 24, 1998.
Both the board of the IAF and the board of PDVSA independently approved these donations; the
donations were also integrated and reflected in the Social Investment Budget of both
organizations.
No members of the PDVSA Board of Directors were never investigated nor punished for
granting the funds. Neither was the President of Primero Justicia at the time, Dr. Alirio Breu
Burelli. The only people accused of any wrongdoing were López and his mother, despite the fact
that at no time did López personally receive any money donated to Primero Justicia, nor did
Mrs. Mendoza de López have any role in selecting which non-profits received the grants.
The donations in question are as follows. On December 23, 1998, PDVSA donated Bs.
60,060,000 (U.S. $ 117, 764.00) to Primero Justicia to fund a project344 aimed at increasing the
number of justices of the peace and thereby increase Venezuelans’ access to judicial services.345
A separate donation of Bs. 25,000,000 (U.S. $ 49,019.00) was made to Primero Justicia on
September 11, 1998 to support the project “Educando Para La Justicia 1998-1999” (“Educating
for Justice 1998-1999”).346
In an audit conducted by the Internal Comptroller of PDVSA completed on May 22,
2001, it was specifically noted that the cash flow and use of donations demonstrated that the
money was used for its intended purpose. López never personally received nor benefited from
these donations. Nevertheless, an administrative proceeding was initiated against López on July
15, 2004—despite no wrongdoing on his part—and in violation of a five-year statute of
limitations to bring administrative actions in Venezuela.347
Despite López never receiving the money, and Mrs. Mendoza de López’s lack of
involvement in the selection of Primero Justicia as a recipient, the Office of the Determination
of Responsibility of the Comptroller General of the Republic (“Office of the Determination of
Responsibility”) issued an order declaring López administratively responsible for a conflict of
343
See generally Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 233, supra note 341, at ¶ 42.
The project was labeled “Expansión y consolidación de la justicia de paz en los Estados Monagas, Anzoátegui,
Sucre y Delta Amacuro: una oportunidad para la equidad en un context de crecimiento económico Regional”
(“Expansion and consolidation of justice for peace in the States of Monagas, Anzoátegui, Sucre, and Delta
Amacuro: an opportunity for equity in a context of regional economic growth”). See Inter-Am Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No.
233 ¶ 41.
345
See generally Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 233, supra note 341, at ¶ 41.
346
Id. at ¶ 41.
347
Id. at ¶ 51.
344
60
interest on October 29, 2004.348 The order imposed a fine on both López and Mrs. Mendoza de
López for Bs. 1,243,200 (U.S. $647.50 at that time).349
Almost ten months later and without a new administrative hearing, the Comptroller
General issued Resolution No. 01-00-000206 on August 24, 2005. This resolution banned
López from holding public office for a period of three years.350 The Comptroller General
forwarded the administrative action to the Public Prosecutor’s Office on December 2, 2004, for a
simultaneous “corresponding criminal investigation.”351 However, criminal charges were not
brought against López until almost a decade later,352 in February 2013—again in violation of the
five-year statute of limitations. These charges accuse López of “influence peddling” and are still
ongoing.353
Administrative Proceeding on Budget Decision as Mayor of Chacao (2004)
Legislation created the Metropolitan District of Caracas (“Metropolitan District”) on
March 8, 2000. The Metropolitan District officially came into existence on August 30, 2000,
with the swearing in of the first Metropolitan Mayor.
Each year, municipalities that make up the Metropolitan District must transfer 10% of
their tax revenue from two years earlier, along with 10% of funds granted by the federal
government in the current fiscal year.354 In the first year these payments were due under this
new system, Chacao initially made a mistake in the amount of money it allocated to transfer to
the Metropolitan District.
All municipalities must set their budgets for the following year by October 31. Chacao
thus set its 2002 budget on October 31, 2001. After correctly budgeting 10% of its anticipated
2002 federal funds, Chacao mistakenly budgeted its estimated tax revenue for all of 2001, in
addition to the last four months of 2000 (September through December, after the Metropolitan
District was validly constituted). However, as mentioned above, Chacao did not need to transfer
its 2001 tax revenue until 2003. The rationale for this approach is that municipalities do not
know what their actual tax revenue for the current tax year in October, months before the
remaining taxes for the municipality are actually collected.
Once Chacao realized this mistake, the money originally budgeted for the Metropolitan
District of Caracas was returned to the general fund of the Chacao treasury at the directive of
Mayor Leopoldo López, who confirmed the legality of conducting such a transaction with the
independent Municipal Comptroller. As Chacao is one the wealthiest municipality in Venezuela,
348
Id. at ¶ 54.
Id. at ¶ 55.
350
See generally Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 233, supra note 341, at ¶¶ 58-59.
351
Id. at ¶ 64 [external citations omitted].
352
Chávez Opponent Charged With Influence Peddling, ASSOCIATED PRESS, Feb. 28, 2013, available at
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/Chávez-opponent-charged-influence-peddling.
353
Id.
354
Special Law on the Regime of the Metropolitan District of Caracas, Art. 22, Ordinal 4, 5; Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser.
C) No. 233, ¶ 65 (citing Judgment No. 912 of August 6, 2008, of the Political-Administrative Chamber of the
Supreme Tribunal of Justice, Case file No. 2005-5124).
349
61
total revenue dwarfs federal funds received. Therefore, removing 10% of its funds over an entire
year greatly reduced the amount of money transferred to the Metropolitan District as compared
to what had been originally budgeted.
Municipalities have the power to authorize additional allocations to their expense budgets
by declaring total or partial annulments of excess budgetary funds not used in full.355 In
accordance with this law, Mayor López passed Resolution No. 14802 on October 25, 2002,
which “declared a partial shortage of some budget appropriations.” 356 The Chacao City Council
then reallocated a portion of the money originally allocated for the Metropolitan District for
things such as payment to the police and fire departments, teachers, and electricity, telephone,
garbage, water and maintenance service. Mayor López publicly announced this reallocation of
funds during a news conference.
As noted previously, prior to transferring the excess budgetary funds back into the
Treasury, Mayor López consulted with the Municipal Comptroller of Chacao—which is an entity
separate and independent from the Chacao Mayor’s Office. The independent Chacao City
Council also explicitly approved the reallocation of funds, which was required by law. Later, the
Municipal Comptroller submitted a written report in support of these actions.357
Despite municipalities possessing the power to authorize additional allocations, and
endorsement by two independent entities of this administrative decision to do so, the Office of
Municipal Oversight within the Comptroller’s Office (“Office of Municipal Oversight”)—which
is a Federal Executive agency—began an investigation on December 6, 2002, regarding the “use
given to the resources [originally] destined for the Metropolitan Mayor[’]s Office of Caracas.”358
This investigation was commenced only when a member of the Chacao City Council made a
complaint to the Office of Municipal Oversight. This council member was a member of the
same political party as President Hugo Chávez and was politically opposed to Mayor López and
his party.
On September 9, 2003, the Office of Municipal Oversight issued a report.359 This report
inaccurately stated that Chacao should have paid 10% of its tax revenue from 2001. Mayor
López was not afforded the opportunity to give input or submit evidence that the correct
procedure was followed. Subsequently, the Office of Municipal Oversight created
administrative record No. 07-02-PI-2003-020 and ordered that legal notice be provided by
López.360 Six of the seven city council members were also investigated and declared
administratively responsible, while the seventh member, who was a member of Chávez’s party
and called for the initial investigation, was never investigated.
355
Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 233, supra note 341, at ¶ 65.
Id. at ¶ 66 (citing Official Letter DA. 3255.10.2002 and DA. 3253.10.2022 signed by López Mendoza on October
28, 2002).
357
Id. at n. 171 (citing Note No. CMDC/GL/776, Nov. 18, 2002).
358
Id. at ¶ 67 (quoting Official Letter No. 07-02-4457 of December 6, 2002, from the Office of Municipal Oversight
to the Municipality of Chacao).
359
Id. at ¶ 68.
360
Id. at ¶ 70.
356
62
On April 26, 2004, a Report on Results was issued by the Office of Municipal Oversight,
which incorrectly found that the money originally allocated to the Metropolitan District
“constitute[d] a legal obligation… by which they cannot be used for means distinct from those
foreseen.”361 The report also erroneously stated that Chacao should have paid 10% of their 2001
tax revenue in their 2002 budget to the Metropolitan District.
The administrative case was then transferred to another office within the Comptroller
General, the Office of Determination of Responsibility of the General Office of Special
Procedures of the Comptroller General (“Office of Determination of Responsibility”), which is
within the same Federal agency as the Office of Municipal Oversight. A public hearing was held
on October 26, 2004. On November 2, 2004, the Office of Determination of Responsibility
issued an order finding López administratively responsible for what it claimed was a flawed
budget reallocation.362 The Office of Determination of Responsibility made no finding regarding
the amount owed to the Metropolitan District. The order solely regarded the decision to reassign
money to the general fund within the treasury and then reallocate this money for other purposes.
Consequently, López was fined Bs. 8,140,000, equivalent at the time to U.S.
$4,239.58.363 López appealed the decision to the Venezuelan Supreme Court. Almost a year
after the original order, on September 26, 2005, the Office of Determination of Responsibility,
acting in response to a directive issued by the Comptroller General’s Office imposed an
“accessory sanction” on López, disqualifying him from public office for a period of six years.364
López was also charged with embezzlement on May 8, 2005. This criminal case is still open and
ongoing.
López appealed the fine, administrative responsibility, and political disqualification, and
requested to have these suspended pending the Supreme Court’s review and decision on his case.
The Supreme Court denied this request and took two years to act on López’s appeal, longer than
is permissible under Venezuelan law. Ultimately, the Venezuelan Supreme Court upheld the
decision by the Office of Determination of Responsibility on August 5 and 6, 2008.365 Over the
course of these events, López was never accused of receiving any of the reallocated money, nor
was he ever charged or convicted in a court of law. López was only found to be administratively
responsible on dubious administrative procedural grounds that were contrary to law.
As the 2008 election season approached, the Comptroller General forwarded a list of
hundreds of people disqualified from holding public office for administrative reasons to the
National Electoral Council (Consejo Nacional Electoral or CNE), the vast majority of whom
were opposition politicians and office holders.366 As a result, on July 21, 2008, CNE approved a
361
Id. at ¶ 71 (quoting Report on Results of April 26, 2004, issued by the Office of Municipal Oversight).
Id. at ¶¶ 66, 76.
363
Id. at ¶ 78.
364
Id. at ¶ 81.
365
Id. at ¶ 87.
366
See generally Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 233, supra note 341, at ¶ 91.
362
63
law barring citizens on this list from running for office in the November 2008 election.367
Leopoldo López was on this list. López’s disqualification went into effect in 2008, allowing him
to finish his term as mayor, but prohibiting him to run for office in the November 2008 elections.
López had planned to run for Mayor of Caracas. Polling suggested that he stood to receive
between 65 and 70& of the vote.368
Despite reallocating the money in accordance with law, the facts clearly indicate that this
action against Leopoldo López was politically motivated and designed to remove him as an
opposition figure. This conclusion is evident from the following facts: López’s decision to
reallocate the money was legal and endorsed by two independent entities (Municipal Comptroller
and Chacao City Council); López was never found to have engaged in corruption or to have
personally used the public money in question; López was never charged or found guilty in a
court of law; the Supreme Court denied López’s request to suspend his political disbarment until
it made its ruling two years later, in violation of López’s due process rights; the CNE passed a
law barring López from running for office; and finally, the Supreme Court upheld López’s
political ban. These events thus all resulted in Leopoldo López not being able to run for office in
2008 for a position that polls show he would have won, and thus these actions are emblematic of
the Venezuelan Government’s relentless efforts to eliminate López as a political opponent.
Decision of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (2011)
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights heard the case Leopoldo López Mendoza v.
the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on March 1-2, 2011.369 Both administrative orders
discussed above were under review.370 On September 1, 2011, the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights (IACtHR) ruled that Venezuela, “through its competent bodies, particularly the
National Electoral Council (CNE), must ensure that the sanction of disqualification is not an
impediment to Leopoldo López Mendoza in the election in which he wishes to register as a
candidate.”371 The decision by the court was unanimous.372
The IACtHR based its decision under Article 23(2) of the American Convention on
Human Rights, which states that only the conviction of a crime may be used to disqualify
someone from running for and holding public office.373 The Court also found a violation of
Article 8(1). This article reads: “Every person has the right to a hearing, with due guarantees and
within a reasonable time, by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal … in the
367
Id. at ¶ 91 (noting “Article 9 of the regulation stated: “[the] following may not run for a position through popular
election…[t]hose who committed acts enshrined in Article 65 of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the other
laws of the Republic… [t]hose who are subject to civil interdiction or disqualification”).
368
Inter-American Court Hears Leopoldo López Case, supra note 15.
369
Id.; Javier El-Hage, Leopoldo López v. Venezuela: A Case Not About Venezuela, AMERICAS QUARTERLY, Apr. 4,
2011, available at http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/2369 [hereinafter Leopoldo López v. Venezuela: A Case
Not About Venezuela].
370
Leopoldo López v. Venezuela: A Case Not About Venezuela, supra note 369.
371
Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 233, supra note 341, at ¶ 217
372
Jorge Rueda, Rights Court Sides with Chávez Opponent, YAHOO!, available at http://news.yahoo.com/rightscourt-sides-Chávez-opponent-215636280.html.
373
Inter-American Human Rights Court Hears Leopoldo López Case, supra note 15; Leopoldo López v. Venezuela:
A Case Not About Venezuela, supra note 369.
64
substantiation of any accusation of a criminal nature … or for the determination of his rights and
obligations.”374 President Hugo Chávez immediately dismissed the ruling, stating, “What value
can that Court have? For me, it means nothing, zero.”375
Decision of the Supreme Justice Tribunal of Venezuela (2011)
On October 17, 2011, the Supreme Court held that the decision by the Inter-American
Court on Human Rights was unenforceable.376 Perplexingly, the Supreme Court claimed that
technically López would be able to run for, but not hold office, and therefore was still allowed to
participate politically.377 However, then-Comptroller General Adelina Gonzalez “warned that
López might be committing fraud if he runs a presidential campaign given the measures against
him.”378
2.
Court Proceedings on Alleged “Coup Plotting” (2004)
As discussed above in Section A(1), at no point was López a proponent of the 2002
attempted coup. The extent of his involvement was participating in public protests that occurred
days before the attempted coup, and acting on a detention order and search warrant for the
Minister of the Interior and Justice, Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, that was issued by Judge Monica
Fernandez of the 39th Control Court, in a way that also provided him with brief and temporary
protection.
Nevertheless, the Government charged Leopoldo López for involvement in the coup, and
he was charged in November 2004 with illegal detention and burglary. He was also charged
with instigation, civil rebellion, and conspiracy for his alleged involvement with the coup. These
charges were made as a consequence of the protests that took place at Plaza Altamira Square
where more than 100 members of the military made public statements and speeches against the
government. Though López had no involvement with the coup and had acted within his rights
by following the detention order for the Minister of the Interior and Justice, the Government used
the 2002 coup as an excuse to punish and silence political opposition leaders such as Mayor
López.
However, on December 31, 2007, President Hugo Chávez approved an amnesty law for
those involved in the detention of Minister of the Interior and Justice, and for those who were
accused of instigation of crime and rebellion up until 2007. At this point all coup-based criminal
charges against López were dropped. López, through his counsel, opposed the granting of
374
Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 233, supra note 341, at ¶ 217.
Carlos Camacho, After Court Ruling, Lopez to Run for Venezuela President, Latin American Herald Tribune,
(last visited Apr 29, 2014), available at http://www.laht.com/article.asp?CategoryId=10717&ArticleId=426123.
376
Lopez Vows to Challenge Chávez Despite Ban, AL JAZEERA, Oct. 19, 2011, available at
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2011/10/2011101921536934227.html [hereinafter Lopez Vows to
Challenge Chávez Despite Ban].
377
Id.; Girish Gupta, Chávez Opponent Can Run for President, but Can’t Take Office, Says Court, CHRISTIAN
SCIENCE MONITOR, Oct. 19, 2011, available at http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2011/1019/Chávezopponent-can-run-for-president-but-can-t-take-office-says-court.
378
Lopez Vows to Challenge Chávez Despite Ban, supra note 376.
375
65
amnesty to him and wished to continue with the case in court so he could be declared not guilty,
but the court dismissed the charges against him.
3.
Acts of Violence against Leopoldo López
In addition to these civil and criminal court actions aimed at disqualifying López as a
political opponent, there have been a series of violent attacks against López. In at least some of
these the attackers used government equipment.
On May 24, 2002 López was attacked in Puerto La Cruz. One of his companions was
injured and López’s vehicle sustained damage. The attackers arrived in official City Hall
vehicles. On June 25, 2002, members of Primero Justicia were attacked at the Central
University of Venezuela. The attackers identified themselves as members of Grupo M-28 of the
Coordinadora Simón Bolivar, and Grupo Utopia. López’s vehicle was shot 12 times. On June
6, 2003, López was at the University of Zulia in Maracaibo City when eight men broke into the
room where López was present. These men were armed with automatic rifles, tear gas, and
smoke bombs. Two students were shot and wounded. One of these students, Germán Petzol,
was a member of Primero Justicia. As mentioned in Section A(1) above, in April 2006, López’s
police escort was killed in an apparent attempt on López’s life. Carlos Mendoza, a police officer
from the Chacao police force was seated in a car seat where López typically sat. Carlos
Mendoza was shot more than 12 times. Finally, on October 2, 2006, López was held as a
hostage for several hours by a group of masked men. López had been with a group of students
at the University of Carabobo when roughly 20 masked individuals with guns and tears gas
entered the University. These men wore shirts that indicated they were members of the political
party Podemos, and some of them were driving government vehicles.379
These violent attacks against his person—along with the false charges and court
proceedings—clearly demonstrate that the Government views Leopoldo López as a political
threat, and it is therefore attempting to undermine his opposition by all means possible.
Appendix II – Leopoldo López’s Speeches (January 23, 2014, February 12, 2014, February
16, 2014, and February 18, 2014; Opening Statement to Court, June 2, 2014)
Speech by Leopoldo López at Political Assembly in Plaza Brión—January 23, 2014
Thank you very, very much, thanks to all of the Venezuelans who are listening to us today, who
are watching us, who are accompanying us, Venezuelans who are in all of the corners of national
territory, Venezuelans who know that Venezuela needs a change, who know that we have to
move through a change of system, not only a change of government, a change of model.
Today is January 23rd, every January 23rd we celebrate something. Today we want to
remember the essence of the rebellion of a people, the essence that the peoples can rise up
against oppression, the essence that the peoples have the right when faced with a government
379
Secuestrado por Varias Horas Alcalde Leopoldo López en la Universidad de Carabobo, GLOBOVISION, Feb. 10,
2006, available at http://globovision.com/articulo/secuestrado-por-varias-horas-alcalde-leopoldo-lopez-en-launiversidad-de-carabobo (translated from Spanish).
66
that seeks imposition, authoritarianism, anti-democracy, corruption, and inefficiency as a form of
government.
Today, January 23rd, which the government claims to also be celebrating, we who are in the
opposition also celebrate it. We must be clear about what it is that is being celebrated: in this
way do we celebrate the beginning of democracy, but on January 23, 1958 what happened was
that a people rose up, that a people revolted, that a people said ‘enough, already!’ that a people
said ‘from the streets we must go out to conquer democracy.’
Democracy in ’58 was not conquered by itself, it was conquered after years of struggle, years of
resistance, of political prisoners, of dead, of persecution, of deception, of militarism, and of antidemocracy and today, years later, more than 50 years later, Venezuela is also subjugated in the
same ways it was subjugated in 1958: it is subjugated by a government that claims to hold the
truth in its hands, it is subjugated by a government that utilizes power to subjugate, it is
subjugated by a government that utilizes lies, it is subjugated by a government that utilizes
intimidation, jail, authoritarianism, the police in seeking to quiet a people. We, from the
windows where they are listening to us, from the media where they may be hearing us, from the
radios, television, the print media that may come out tomorrow, we invite the Venezuelan people
to lift up their fighting spirit.
To lift up our fighting spirit and today we say it as Venezuelans who are worried about what is
happening and we want to say it very clearly: we are opposed to this government, we are
opposed to this system, we are opposed to everything that represents anti-democracy, we are
opposed to an economic model that has subjugated the people. We are opposed to the fact that in
the years of the greatest petroleum boom – this year, 2014, is the 100th year of being an oil
country and in the 100 years of being an oil country this has been the strongest boom – the price
of petroleum has been above 90 dollars during the last eight years but paradoxically these years
[have been the ones] with the highest inflation, highest rates of unemployment, of lines, of
shortages, of unemployment, and of lack of opportunities. There are no adolescents in
Venezuela today who are not thinking about the possibility of leaving Venezuela; there are no
adolescents in Venezuela today who are not thinking about the uncertainty of their attending
university in the future, and knowing that they will not have employment opportunities; there are
no youth in Venezuela today who are thinking about the possibility of taking to the streets and
being peaceful; and if the youth harbor these worries, then so do the parents, so do their
grandparents, so does the people who know that there is no future with this government. We
Venezuelans are committed to change, we are committed to democracy, to the Constitution, but
above all we are committed to the people and we want to tell the Venezuelans that the
government will do what it wants to do, that the government will do everything it can at its
disposal: utilize the oil resource that belongs to all Venezuelans to subjugate us, utilize its
intimidation to seek to quiet the media, utilize the police to intimidate us. But they will not quiet
our fighting spirit, they will not suppress our rebelliousness of wanting to change what today
signifies a government of oppression, a government of anti-democracy, a government that is
profoundly inefficient, and a government that is responsible for all of the ills that we are
experiencing today.
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The government is the one responsible for the economic crisis; the government is the one
responsible for the insecurity; the government is the one responsible for the despair; the
government is the one responsible for the lack of opportunities; and being as it is that the
government – and we are not just talking about the executive [branch] but rather about the
system – is the one responsible for all of the ills being endured by the Venezuelan people, we
assume our responsibility, which is to make a call to struggle, to fight, to dream, to dream with
optimism but also to dream with the strength of knowing that we are entering a new stage of
risks because the government continues to take root through its aims of persecution.
We do not care how the government describes us, because they are not the owners of the truth.
For us it is important that the people want change. Today we call on Venezuelans – women,
men, adolescents, people of prolonged youth [i.e. senior citizens], indigenous people, creoles,
whites, and blacks, women and men – to rise up in the face of the meaning of a government that
wants to drive pressure on our people.
And what does rising up mean? So that they won’t misinterpret us and say words that we are not
saying, an ‘uprising/revolt’ [‘alzamiento’] means first and foremost the rising to consciousness,
the rising up of our fighting spirit, the rising up to our vocation for change. The uprising that
today, January 23rd, we must demand, is that a people can take to the streets, ever since peoples
have been peoples, ever since history has been history, this right has existed for peoples to say
‘we want to change and we want to change.’
We do not agree with the economic model that is being driven by the government. Last week
Nicolás Maduro said that he does not devalue [the currency], and yesterday they devalued the
currency by practically 400%. The government says that the parties responsible for the violence
are the television soap operas [‘telenovelas’] and cartoons/comic strips [‘comiquitas’], and the
Attorney General of the Republic, in her presentation to the National Assembly, does not speak
of impunity. The government says that the economic war is the responsibility of the
businesspersons and producers, when the reality is that today we Venezuelans are suffering the
worst [effects] of bad economic management because of the government, and it is for that reason
that we invite the Venezuelan people, to all who desire change, to all who wish for Venezuela to
be able to improve, to all who dream of a Venezuela in peace, of a Venezuela with wellbeing, of
a Venezuela with progress, to all Venezuelans who know that we can be better off, to all
Venezuelans who know that we can have a country of opportunities, a country of employment,
of progress, a country of justice, of equality before the law, a country of justice, a country in
which they kill a mother’s son when she discovers that a public prosecutor has not found another
criminal who has asked him for 15,000, 20,000 Bolivares to see if his child’s case might be
processed, a Venezuela in which the judges can treat everyone equally, a Venezuela in which
democracy is the essence of all of the rights for all persons, all of the rights for all of the people,
not some of the rights for some of the people.
Today in Venezuela there is a corrupt upper echelon of leadership. Today in Venezuela there is
an elite that has hijacked the Venezuelan State, an elite that has become multimillionaires, an
elite that behind the backs of the people has robbed it of all of the wealth belonging to the
Venezuelans, and that elite that today is governing and that refers to themselves as
revolutionaries, that refers to themselves as the agents of change, are the ones responsible for the
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ills endured by our people, and it is for that reason that we are not going to renounce our right,
our sacrosanct right to say ‘enough, already!’, our sacrosanct right to say, as Betancourt said
back in the 1950s, that we will be in the streets, that we will converge with the people, that we
will converge with the strength of a people that wants to change. And we know that this
announcement will be presented by the government as a call to something different than the
consolidation of democracy. But we tell Venezuelans, let’s not get sucked into deceptions, that it
does not matter to us how the government wants to interpret what we are saying, because for us
what is important is the Venezuelan people, that people that wants change, that people that wants
a better Venezuela, that people that today is frustrated, that has been driven to despair, that
appears to not perceive a way out of the disaster to which we are subjected today. We tell
Venezuelans that it is possible, it is possible to have a better Venezuela, it is possible but we
need you, we need you, sister, we need you, brother, we need you, but first and foremost with the
conviction, with the conviction of your soul, with the conviction of your actions.
And it is for that reason that we call on the Venezuelan people to say ‘enough, already!’ We do
not know when change will come about, we do not know if it will be in one month, in one year,
in two years – but what we do know is that if we do not begin today, that change will not come,
that if we do not begin today that change will never come to the Venezuelans’ doors of destiny.
And it is for that reason, and it is for that reason, that we today on the 23rd of January, there is no
date, there is no more appropriate date to make a statement such as this one, where today we
celebrate the people’s revolt, where today we celebrate the street as a space for struggle, where
today we celebrate the strength of a people that was dominated, that was crushed, that was
despairing over the imposition of a government that sold significant changes within the
economic sphere, that sold a supposed stability, but that below at the level of the people the
essence and liberty were lacking, the freedom to be able to say and do what we wanted, to be
able to say and do what was on our consciences.
Today Venezuela is suppressed by the darkness, and the sunlight is in our hands, the sunlight of
a better future is in the hands of the women and men who know that we can change, and that is
why we are aware that there are different spaces for struggle, but that there is one which we will
not renounce, and that is the street. And in this sense we want to tell Venezuelans that as of this
moment we are going to initiate a cycle of street assemblies throughout national territory, street
assemblies with one goal, with one topic to discuss: the exit.
What is the exit to this disaster? We believe that calling for a political exit is not only done with
political organizations, it is not done only in a restricted space. That discussion regarding where
Venezuela needs to go needs to convene a people, we have to listen to the Venezuelan people,
we have to debate, we have to incorporate the Venezuelan people’s sentiments of frustration and
vocation for change. It is for that reason that we in these street assemblies that we want to hold
and which will be held on national territory, in the cities, in the towns, in the neighborhoods, in
the developments, we are going to debate this, the exit.
And what is the exit that we are proposing? We are aware that the exit must be, first and
foremost, popular, popular with the people, people, people, persons who want an exit, persons
who want to be the strength of a people seeking change. Secondly, a democratic exit, and
thirdly, an exit within the Constitution. The Constitution offers us various tools and we will
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debate with the people which of these tools is the most appropriate, which of those tools can
channel us toward a change as soon as possible, toward the most profound kind of change, the
most democratic, and that enable us to make progress toward a better Venezuela.
Next Sunday, the 2nd of February, we will have a national day of street assemblies, a national
assembly that we want and that will be repeated throughout national territory, and in these street
assembly days we will stimulate this debate, this dialogue, this encounter with the people that
wants change, this encounter with a people that knows that we can be better off, the dialogue
with the Venezuelans who want change, the dialogue with the Venezuelans who know that there
is no justification for someone who goes to a hospital and is told that there are no supplies, the
dialogue with a people that knows that there is no justification for having to stand in line for
seven hours to get two chickens, the people that knows that there is no justification for having a
family member killed and receiving no response, the people that knows that there is no
justification for having a government that robs, robs, and robs, and nothing happens, the dialogue
with a people that knows that we have an obligation to point out those who are at fault, to point
out those who are responsible.
But we also have the obligation to lead toward a change, and that change must convene millions.
And we are millions, there are millions of us Venezuelans who want change, there are millions
of us Venezuelans who are conscious that today Venezuela is not on the right path, that today
Venezuela needs to change, and thus Venezuela [sic].
Sisters, brothers throughout national territory who are listening to us, wherever you are listening
to us: we invite you to go out onto the streets for this debate, for this encounter, for these street
assemblies. Do not wait for us to convene you. Go out onto the streets for this debate, in your
development, in your neighborhood, in your small village, with your people at work, in all
corners, in the small car, in the metro, in the street: go out to speak about the exit. Venezuela
needs an exit.
We do not know what chance we’ll have in the future; what we do know is that today we have
the chance to issue this statement; that today, January 23, 2014, we assume the responsibility for
the fighting spirit that opened the doors to democracy in the 20th Century and that today we have
that same responsibility to light the flame of the strength of the people that knows that we be
much better off. Hand in hand with the people, hand in hand with the women and men of the
struggle, hand in hand with the youth, with students, with workers, with the victims of violence,
hand in hand with those who have been driven to despair but who want hope, hand in hand with
those who do not see the change but who have in their hearts the vocation for things to change,
we will proceed to create this strength, this strength for change to which we call the entire
Venezuelan people.
Thank you so very much, brothers of Venezuela, sisters of Venezuela. Today more than ever,
today more than ever, today more than ever, today more than ever we encourage the vocation for
a peaceful struggle, popular, constitutional, and democratic. This is the message that we bring to
Venezuelans and will replicate in all of the corners of national territory.
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To the struggle, Venezuelan people! To the struggle, Venezuelan people, with strength and faith
to affect the change that we Venezuelans know we deserve! Many, many thanks!
___________
Speech of Leopoldo López at the Rally at Plaza Venezuela—February 12, 2014
A very good day to you, a very good day to you Venezuela, a good day to those of us who are in
Caracas and those who are throughout Venezuela. Today this demonstration is being held
throughout national territory; we are tens of thousands, we will be hundreds of thousands of
Venezuelans who seek political change in Venezuela. Long live Venezuela! Long live
Venezuela! Long live the women and men who today are convinced that Venezuela must
change!
And I would like to start by recognizing the Venezuelan youth who today are in the streets, but
most especially those who have been suppressed, those who are imprisoned today, those who
have been hurt by bullets, those who have been repressed by security officers, by the army, by
the police, and by the government’s irregular groups. We want to tell those youth that they are
not alone: their parents, their grandparents, and all of Venezuela are with the Venezuelan youth.
Today, Youth Day, we should be celebrating a Venezuela full of opportunities, we should be
celebrating the young people of the future, but unfortunately today our youth ask themselves:
‘What will I do in the future here in this homeland?’ And today we want to demand the right
that the youth and all Venezuelans have to struggle, to be in the street, and to build a future that
is being robbed from us today.
Unfortunately, today Venezuela is living through one of the worst moments in our history:
shortages, lines, salaries are not sufficient [for people’s needs], insecurity, impunity, drugtrafficking inside the government, corruption, the hand-over of our country to foreign interests.
Today we are living through all of these problems during a dark moment of our country. The
shortages, inflation, insecurity, lack of opportunities have a culprit: the government. It has a
group that is responsible for everything that is happening. What a contradiction, brothers and
sisters: in the midst of the biggest oil boom in the history of Venezuela, we have the highest
inflation; in the midst of this oil boom we have the greatest shortages; in the midst of this oil
boom we have the highest rate of unemployment of our youth. And do you know why? Because
here in Venezuela, they intend to install – and an incorrect model has been making progress – a
model that, it’s not that it is getting us closer to a cliff but rather, Venezuela is falling over a cliff.
We are doing it first and foremost with a patriotic consciousness, nationalistic, we the parents
who know that if things continue as they are, there will not be a future for our people, and we are
doing it with the awareness that the Constitution provides various options for producing political
change. I invite you to continue with us in the street convincing the people that it is indeed
possible to change. There are options in the Constitution: there is resignation, there is the
revocatorio [recall election], there is the constituyente [Constituent Assembly]. But, do you
know what? All of these mechanisms, which are vehicles that appear in the Constitution, are
secondary, secondary to that which is of primary importance, to the individuals, to the people, to
71
the street, to the street, and to the protest; because it is in the street, it is in the street and with the
protest in the street that we will be able to activate an exit from this disaster.
Think about how we got here, the convening announcement traveling by word of mouth through
social networks. But here we are, and we are in all of Venezuela, and this is going to continue to
grow and grow and grow until we are millions in the street, millions of women and men in the
streets of Venezuela demanding our rights and our commitment to political change. As we said
in Chacaíto, each person will look for five and 10 [other people]. I tell each of you who are here
today assembled that each one of you, that each of you who are here today and who are attending
the rallies throughout Venezuela, let us understand that change is within you, let us understand
that change is within each one of us, each of us must be an active conscience, an active medium
for communication, an ongoing source of information, and when we grow and become millions
in the street, we will achieve what we are seeking, which is political change in Venezuela. But
that will happen because we are being very clear that we are not willing to give up on those who
are being abused.
Today the young people have issued a call to go to the Office of the Attorney General with a
very concrete goal of declaring that they will remain in the street with a protest that will grow
ever more determined, ever more potent, until the prisoners of Táchira, Nueva Esparta, and
Mérida are freed. I want, I want to celebrate the unity in the street, I want to celebrate and ratify
that those of us whose second home is the ‘alianza unitaria’ [united alliance’] are united, we are
all committed to change. Let’s not get it wrong by seeking adversaries on the sides, let’s not get
it wrong by sowing noise where there is none; our adversary is the government, it is Maduro, and
it is the government authorities that have been hijacked. This is a struggle by the people against
the State. This is a struggle of millions against those who have hijacked the power that should
belong to the Venezuelan people. It will not be easy. We are not inviting you [with the idea
that] the exit will be generated in one or two days. We are inviting you to [join] the struggle, we
are inviting you to take to the street, we are inviting you to be a part of this change, and I want to
tell you that this invitation is not an invitation devoid of risks. We all are going to assume the
necessary risks for confronting a government that intends to silence us.
Yesterday the government, which wants to disregard the fact that there are millions who are
against them, attempted to belittle this convening announcement via national [television]
channels by branding this convening announcement as violent, trying to sow fear so that the
people would not come. But I am told that not only are we comprised of those of us who are
here, but that the crowd reaches all the way to Sabana Grande and throughout Venezuela. And
throughout Venezuela today the vocation for change is being given expression. This is a struggle
of all Venezuelans, of the middle class and of the poorest, of those who suffer in the lines and do
not receive an answer, of those who suffer from the insecurity and do not receive an answer, of
those who suffer from the suffocation of not having a future and do not receive an answer. And
as they say, ‘We are not afraid.’ We are not afraid of being in the street and remaining in the
street. I ask you, brothers and brothers [sic], can this be done or not? Let it be heard: can this be
done or not? Well, I would like, I would like . . . ‘Yes it can be done, yes it can be done.’ I
would like to ask all of you who are here today that we assume a commitment to continue to
multiply our numbers, to continue growing, to continue making progress in the conquest of this
political change that belongs to us. And I ask you, that we raise our right hands and say: “We,
72
male and female Venezuelans, committed to our history of struggling for freedom, committed
today, Youth Day, to the future of our children, we assume the commitment of having a vocation
for change, the dedication and determination until we achieve political change, the social change
that Venezuela deserves. Long live Venezuela! Long live the future of Venezuela! Long live
our youth.’
And let us go out now, let us go out to walk with conviction, with strength, assuming [the path
of] non-violence. Our territory is the street, our struggle is non-violent. May God bless you.
Many, many thanks.
___________
Speech of Leopoldo López at Rally Outside Office of the Attorney General—February 12,
2014
Today there has been a massive response, and not only what we are seeing in Caracas, and not
only what is going to be picked up by the regional media, but also the information that we have
of what is happening in towns, in all of the cities, in neighborhoods, in small villages throughout
Venezuela. Today Venezuela is in the street, today Venezuela is in the street asking for change,
today Venezuela is in the street saying, ‘enough, already!’ Enough already with the abuse,
enough already with the lies, enough already with the manipulation.
Today Venezuela, the youth convened, their parents joined, their siblings, their grandparents . . .
We are in the street because we are convinced that we can have a much better country than the
one we have. We want to say that one’s struggle is everyone’s struggle. We are here today to
ask for the release of the students, there are more than 20 students who have been detained, who
have been tortured, who have been manipulated, who have been forced to sign blank sheets of
paper where they later pieced together accusations and fragments of information in an attempt to
inculpate [‘montar ollas’] them, and thus we issue the alert. And the chant that is being said
today at the Office of the Attorney General is, “Maduro, you coward, free these student
prisoners.” Why is this being cried out at the Office of the Attorney General? Because no one
has any doubt that the person who issues the orders here at the Office of the Attorney General is
Maduro, because the governmental authorities here have no autonomy, because here the
Attorney General, the comptroller, the Human Rights Ombudsman [‘Defensora del Pueblo’], the
CNE [National Electoral Council], and the courts depend on the government and on a political
agenda of twisting [human] rights, twisting justice based on their interests.
This movement that is in the street today will continue to grow. I want to say that this doesn’t,
that this doesn’t remain here. Last Sunday, February 2 we were thousands, today we are tens of
thousands, I would dare say hundreds of thousands throughout the country, and this movement
will continue to grow, this movement assumes that one’s struggle is everyone’s struggle.
Yesterday we were with press workers, today with the students. We will be with the workers of
Guayana, with the victims of violence, with all those who are in the street protesting. We call on
them, [saying] let’s unite and create a single strength, a single voice, a single fighting spirit, and
a single commitment: [to affect] change in Venezuela.
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That is a demonstration of Maduro’s cowardice and fear. I imagine that they are hurling that
insinuation at me, no? I say now, look, Maduro, Diosdado, and to all of the people who
accompanies him, because they are a small elite who see themselves as owners of the country.
That does not scare us, nor do we lose sleep over it, among other things because this is not the
moment for anyone’s candidacy, this is the moment to struggle for political and social change in
Venezuela. Despite the threats – look, bring out your uniforms, bring out your epaulettes, your
planes, your submarines, your rifles, your pistols, bring out your drug-trafficking and bring out
your corruption – we are not afraid, we will not retreat in conquering change in Venezuela,
because it is Constitutional, because it belongs to us, because we are millions who are seeking it
and are proceeding step by step. The commitment to freeing the students, the youth who have
been tortured and imprisoned, is a commitment we will not renounce, and the government should
know this. This protest will escalate, it will grow, and we will achieve the objectives we have set
for ourselves.
Thus, today I want to highlight, I want to highlight that we have come peacefully, as you can see.
Here there is no vocation for violence. There is irreverence, yes, there is also determination, but
you in the media can emphasize that there has been no violence. Now then, when is there
violence? When they bring out the law enforcement officers, when they bring out the police, the
guards, and the army, and when they bring out the collective groups that take their orders from
the government, as occurred yesterday in Mérida when the Tupamaros fell heavily on the
students. Today we want to send a message to the soldiers, to the soldiers of the Bolivarian
Armed Forces, we want to send a message to the National Guard, to the police officers, to the
public prosecutors, and to the members of the collectives: Do not follow orders or instructions to
destroy the people. You do not have to repress the people. You must wear that uniform with
valor and in adherence to the Constitution and the law.
Look, nothing has happened here because no group has come from the government or from law
enforcement. We leave here in peace, taking on the conquest of the objective that we are setting
for ourselves. And this protest will continue to grow, every day it will grow. This is a national
sentiment, a popular force. One’s struggle is everyone’s struggle.
Who are the collectives that are in the UCV [Central University of Venezuela] today kidnapping
students at gunpoint? They are the ones that are violent. What is happening now is that the
government brings out chains to criminalize us. What we have is this small window of
communication with you to be able our message [sic]. We are committed to this massive,
popular struggle. We are millions, this wave will continue to grow, let no one doubt that. This
strength will continue to grow every day until we achieve the objective we have set for
ourselves, which is political change.
The immediate release of those who have been tortured, of the prisoners, and the [lifting of the]
repression that has occurred in recent days during the peaceful demonstrations of the students
and the people who are in the street: this is the complete demand. And they should know that we
are not going to leave the street, they should know that we are not going to rest until we achieve
what we are proposing, which is political change in the country.
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Up to now, the information we have is that there are tens of thousands, I would dare say
hundreds of thousands, of Venezuelans in the streets. Just in Caracas alone there are more than
50,000, I would dare say almost 60,000, 70,000 persons who came out today non-violently. That
same thing is happening in the capitals, but also in the small villages. Venezuela woke up. What
did Maduro expect? What did the government expect? What did the crooks expect who today
are in charge of the governmental authorities? That the people would not awaken? The people
has already awoken, it is in the street, we are determined, we are convinced that we are going to
make progress toward conquering the change that Venezuela needs and deserves. Many thanks.
We will be announcing day by day which they are going to be, but what I can tell you is that
what we are seeing here will grow, this is a wave that will grow, this is a wave that will grow
every day, week by week, until we achieve what [the objective] we have set for ourselves, which
is, with the Constitution in hand, with the people in the street, in a non-violent fashion, to open a
door to guide the country toward an exit from the disaster that Nicolás Maduro and his
government represent.
The next actions will be in the street, street, assemblies, it will entail accompanying all of the
protests, it will be a coming together of all of the social movements that are in the street with the
determination to create one strength from the strength of them all, a single strength with the same
determination. Many thanks.
___________
Words from Press Conference Where Leopoldo López Denounces Violence
February 12, 2014
First and foremost, our condolences to the family members of the two Venezuelans who died
today, our most sincere condolences go out to them, to their family members, regardless of what
their political ideology was. Today, despite all of the predictions, despite a brutal campaign
mounted by the government over the last four days to sow fear, radio stations and television
channels sowing fear in Venezuelans so that they would not take to the streets, lying,
manipulating. Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets, hundreds of thousands
of Venezuelans, because it wasn’t only in Caracas; it was throughout Venezuela that women and
men came out [to the streets], committed to the cause, a better country, a country that we know is
being hijacked by a small group of women and men who are manipulating power, who
manipulate the institutions, who manipulate the truth.
Those Venezuelans who came out throughout national territory did so courageously, knowing
that there were threats on the part of the government, knowing that the call we put out was a call
to convene peacefully, non-violently. And that is the way it was, the demonstration that today
brought together thousands of individuals in Plaza Venezuela. In that way did we walk to the
Office of the Attorney General: in peace, non-violently. We were there in that way at the Office
of the Attorney General for several hours, protesting, demonstrating, but in peace and nonviolently; and yes, with irreverence in our thoughts and in our hearts, but never with violence.
Now there are some questions that we believe are fundamental that remain today in the minds of
Venezuelans. Why wasn’t there a clear police presence, if they knew that we were going to go to
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the Office of the Attorney General? If the permit ran up to the Office of the Attorney General,
why, in contrast to what has transpired for 15 years in various demonstrations, were there no law
enforcement officers at the edges of the demonstration as established by the guidelines? Why,
after one-and-one-half hours did a squad of hundreds of law enforcement officers appear one
block away from the Office of the Attorney General, but with armed groups behind them? Why
do uniformed law enforcement officers attack those who are in front of them, when there are
armed groups behind them? Why, if when we withdrew in a peaceful manner, as Mayor
Ledezma has stated [and] was recorded in the media, we withdrew and the thousands of people
who were there withdrew, and a small group of 30 people stayed there and began to throw rocks
and bottles at the Office of the Attorney General, why, why if there was a squad of more than
300 law enforcement officers less than 50 meters away, did they do nothing? The answer to that
is because it involved a plan, an orchestrated plan, a plan conceived in the communications being
bombarded by the State for several days now that intensified yesterday with [television and/or
radio] channels directly criminalizing us, [a plan] that was executed today.
Now then, times have changed and the truth will come out, and the truth is present in the tens,
and I dare say hundreds, of photographs that the people took. There are photos of the armed
groups, there are videos of the squads who looked on as mere spectators when they [persons]
were destroying the Office of the Attorney General with rocks. There are photos of uniformed
officers firing a mansalva [liberally, at close range, without fear of reprisal], there are photos that
might be able to link those who had weapons with the ammunitions that today ended the lives of
two Venezuelans. Times have changed and the truth is there. I call on the media who were here
today, I call on the Venezuelans who recorded [the incidents] in photographs, in videos, to make
them public, to present them, because therein exists the defense of the truth. This is a fragile
government, and it is fragile because it is anti-democratic, corrupt, and inefficient. Its fragility is
displayed through the [television] channels today, its fragility was displayed through the
[television] channels yesterday, its fragility is displayed by Maduro when he tries to tell us
Venezuelans that he is going to suspend guarantees through extrajudicial means and that we
won’t do anything. Today Maduro tells us Venezuelans that he is suspending the street
demonstrations – on account of what? That is a suspension of a guarantee without openly
declaring it as such, executing it in order to sow fear.
I would like to tell Nicolás Maduro and the head of governmental authority that we are not
afraid: we are on the right side of history, we are on the right side of the truth, we are on the right
side of justice, we are on the right side of the people, we are the side of the poor, of the excluded
ones, of those who have to stand in line, of those who do not receive answers regarding so much
insecurity, of those who are victims and are the recipients of more impunity, of the youth who
have no future.
Today [is] the 12th of February, Youth Day; we have youth who not dream in Venezuela because
the government has robbed them of their future. We are on the side of those who wish to dream
of a better Venezuela. We are on the side of women and men who know that we can have a
much better country than we have today, and being on the side of truth, of justice, of the future,
we also have the strength of the people to not retreat in our conditions.
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They may threaten us, they may threaten us with their uniforms and with all of their epaulettes
and with all of their sashes and with all of their military collars, with all of their symbols of
power. They may threaten us with their small tanks, with threats of raids, they may threaten us
with imprisonment, they may threaten us with their weapons or their airplanes or their
submarines, they may threaten us with all of their violent speech. They may threaten us with
their drug-trafficking, with their corruption. They may threaten us with all of the
communicational power that they intend to utilize to divert the truth, but we will not retreat.
We will not retreat in our conviction to fight for a better Venezuela, to fight for a Venezuela that
we know that we can and want to conquer. And I issue this call, most especially to those of you
who have come out to walk in the streets of Venezuela today and to those who wanted to walk
but for reason did not come out: “Let us not lose hope, let us not permit them to vanquish us in
the only space wherein we cannot be vanquished – in the heart, in hope. We can never lose that
battle, we can never lose that space, the strength we derive from hope, truth, and justice.”
We know that difficult times are coming, we knew this, we know that the threats may turn into
actions, we know that the government may continue to manipulate the law, the Constitution, and
the institutions, but that makes us stronger because they are the weak ones, those who
manipulate, those who assembled that macabre plan which had to be completed, as Maduro said,
because Maduro announced it yesterday: go look up Maduro’s statements, Maduro declared
yesterday that there someone was going to die during this demonstration. What a coincidence,
someone did indeed die and later another one in this demonstration. In light of the fact that
Maduro said that yesterday, what information did Maduro have yesterday? And I directly point
the finger: you are responsible, you and yours are responsible. I point the finger directly at the
hijacked governmental authorities.
But I issue a call, a call to civil servants: do not be complicit, do not place yourselves on the
wrong side of history, do not place themselves on the side of those who wish to defend the
indefensible. To the public prosecutors, to the judges, to the police, to those in uniform, to the
Venezuelans, we tell them: that at this time let us seek the truth. That at this time let us be with
[on the side of] hope, with [on the side of] the future of knowing that together we can construct a
better Venezuela.
And I want to end by saying, as Antonio said so well, as María Corina said so well, that we
continue forward. There will be more convening announcements. The wave that began on the
2nd of February and that today was multiplied by 100, that wave will grow. They may threaten
us, they may even imprison us, but this wave will continue to grow, because this is a wave with a
collective spirit that knows that we need to change. Know this, Mr. Maduro: regardless what
you do, this that has begun will not stop until change is conquered in peace and democracy for
all Venezuelans.
Thank you very, very much, good evening.
___________
YouTube Video Wherein Leopoldo López Declares his Intent to Turn Himself In –
February 16, 2014
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I would like to thank you for all of the messages of support and solidarity you have given me
during recent days. As I have said, I continue in Venezuela and will continue to fight for a better
country. Naturally, I have taken a few days to think, to share with my family, and be able to
make the best decision in these moments. As I have confirmed, I will continue to struggle in the
streets and hand-in-hand with the Venezuelan people, and it is for that reason that this coming
18th [of February] I want to call on all of you: let us walk together from Plaza Venezuela where
on February 12th a flame of hope for change awoke in favor of all Venezuelans, and that from
there we walk to the Ministry of Interior and Justice, the place that has become the symbol of
repression, of persecution, of torture, and of lies, the place where we will bring very concrete
demands: 1) clarification of the responsibility of the State in the homicides that occurred on 12
February; there are photos, videos, irrefutable evidence of what happened that day; 2) the
immediate release of all citizens, especially the youth who have been persecuted and who are
still imprisoned and continue to be tortured; 3) the ceasing of the repression and persecution of
what is a right of all Venezuelans: the right to protest; [and] 4) the disarming once and for all of
the paramilitary groups and collective groups that have been responsible for homicides,
insecurity, the devastation and intimidation of the people while under the protection and hand of
impunity of the Venezuelan State.
And lastly, I will be there to show my face. It has been said in recent days that they want to see
me imprisoned. I will be there to show my face. I have nothing to fear, I have committed no
crime. I have been a Venezuelan who is committed to our country, to our people, to the
Constitution, and to our future. If there is a decision made to illegally imprison me, well I will
be there to take on that persecution and that despicable decision by the State.
I want to tell all of you who want to accompany us that that day we must go out as we have
always done, peacefully. I ask that this time let us go dressed in white so as to symbolize our
commitment to peace. I will invite you to walk [with me] up to a certain point, and from there
on I will go alone to deliver these demands to the Ministry of Interior and Justice. I do not want
you to risk your lives or integrity, nor [do I want] the insecurity of any compatriot; but together
we must show our faces in these moments. Sister, brother, today more than ever let us assume
that the future belongs to us, that it is our responsibility to construct in this dark moment the
window that can open onto a better future for our children, for all Venezuelans. We are on the
right side of history, we are on the right side of justice, we are on the right side of the truth.
Strength and faith.
We will see each other on Tuesday.
___________
Speech Leopoldo López at Plaza Brión Just Prior to Arrest and Detainment—February 18,
2014
As you know, today in Venezuela, we’re living dark times, where criminals are rewarded by the
government, and those of us in Venezuela who want peaceful, democratic change following the
constitution, are threatened with jail.
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Today, I show my face before an unjust justice system, before a corrupt judiciary and before a
justice system that does not pass judgments in accordance with the constitution and the laws. But
today, I also offer you, Venezuelans, our deepest commitment that, if my imprisonment helps
awaken our people, if it is good enough to finally make Venezuela wake up so that the majority
of those of us who want change are able to affect that change peacefully and democratically, then
this infamous imprisonment that Nicolás Maduro wants, so openly and so cowardly, then for me
it will have been worth it. This is the biggest example of how there is no separation of powers in
Venezuela. How many times did Maduro say he wanted me in jail? How many times did he say
he was giving instructions for our arrests? What is a president doing giving instructions to a
district attorney, or to a court? Those actions are the best examples of how there is no justice in
Venezuela.
Nevertheless, I do not want to take this step, perhaps into silence for awhile, without stating very
clearly the reasons behind this struggle: This struggle is indeed for our youth, this struggle is for
our students. This struggle is for those who have been repressed, this struggle is for those who
are imprisoned. This fight, brothers and sisters, is for all the people of Venezuela, who are
suffering today. Our people have to endure long lines and shortages; there are no jobs and there
is no future for young people because of a failed model, a model that is not our own, but
exported by other countries, one that has nothing to do with the brave people of Venezuela.
Brothers and sisters, we have to find our way out of this disaster together. While our solution has
to be peaceful and constitutional, it also needs to be on the streets because we no longer have any
free media to express ourselves in Venezuela. If the media remain silent, then let the streets
speak out! Let the streets speak out with people! Let the streets speak out peacefully! And let the
streets speak out in democracy!
Now, I will go to the police and National Guard’s barricade. Believe me, I put a lot of thought
into this. I want to tell you that in the past few days I had a lot of time to think things over and to
analyze things, to listen to the radio and watch TV, read things I had not read in a while and to
talk to my family. One of the options I had was to leave the country, but I am never leaving
Venezuela! The other option I was faced with was to stay in hiding, in the shadows; but that
choice may have made some people doubt—even some of those present here today—that we had
something to hide. But we have nothing to hide! I have not committed any crime! I am not a
criminal! I simply have no reason to hide! So the only option left for me is to show my face. And
so I ask you, from the bottom of my heart, that when I go to the other side and turn myself in,
you remain peaceful. We have no choice. I do not want violence. This is why I ask for your
understanding; I ask you to organize yourselves and to be disciplined.
I want to thank everyone, but someone in particular, someone who has given me much strength
and who is my greatest pillar that allows me to be here with you: My wife Lilian, who is right
here with us.
Well, brothers and sisters, I ask you to continue this struggle and stay on the streets, to embrace
our right to protest. But do so peacefully and without resorting to violence. I ask that all of us
here today, all Venezuelans who want change, to get informed, educated and organized, and to
carry out a non-violent protest, a massive demonstration of freewill, hearts and souls of the
people who want change. But without hurting thy neighbor. I ask you not to lose faith, and I am
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sure that in the name of my children, my daughter Manuela, my son Leopoldo—and like Andres
Eloy Blanco once said, “He who has fathered one child, becomes a father for every child.”
In the name of every child in Venezuela, I swear we will prevail and soon we will have a free
and democratic Venezuela.
___________
Opening Statement, Leopoldo López, Preliminary Hearing, Court of Justice, Caracas, June
2, 2014
I am a political prisoner, a prisoner of conscience. These are my words in the face of an unjust
imprisonment on the occasion of the preliminary hearing of my case, which has taken away my
freedom for seventy (70) days. I write these lines from my confinement cell in the “Ramo
Verde” military prison.
I have been politically prosecuted by the regime for more than ten (10) years. I have
undergone more than twenty (20) accusations, political trials, attempted murders duly denounced
but never answered; moral assassination by the communication means of the State and two (2)
political bans that, even after having obtained a favorable sentence from the Inter-American
Court of Human Rights for the violation of my rights to the defense and to the political
participation, I have been prevented from exercising posts of popular election.
For more than a year, since January 2013, Nicolás Maduro has publicly expressed his
desire of putting me in jail. In more than ten (10) opportunities during his national TV and radio
networks, Maduro announced that I should be put in jail based on the opinions issued against his
Government.
Based on the above context of permanent and explicit prosecution and threats by Maduro,
an arrest warrant is issued against me on February 12 of this year. I understand that this new
attack is a political one and having my conscience at peace for those claims; I decided to
voluntarily present myself before an unworthy justice on February 18 of this year from which
date I have been in prison.
I am in jail because I have denounced the Venezuelan State and its main responsible
representatives for being corrupt, inefficient, repressive and anti-democratic. I am in jail for
having denounced in person that there is no democracy in Venezuela, that the public authorities
have been seized by a corrupted elite, inefficient and anti-democratic which has resulted in a
deep social, economical and political crisis that all the Venezuelan people undergo today. I am
in jail, for denouncing that in Venezuela we are living under a dictatorship. I am in jail for
proposing a deep change, which must go through the substitution of those who are in charge of
all the political authorities. I am in jail for demanding the resignation or substitution – through
the constitutional way – of Nicolás Maduro as President of Venezuela.
I am in jail for having called the Venezuelan people to go out to the streets to protest,
exercising our historical and constitutional right to protest until we achieve a political change
that guarantees the peace, wellbeing and the progress for the Venezuelan people. I am in jail for
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exposing ideas, opinions, and proposals that today are shared by the majority of Venezuelans that
from their outrage and patriotic heart ask for a deep change which shall allow setting out the
route of our nation.
I am physically in jail, I am isolated with severe restriction to visits but neither today nor
ever can they jail my deep conviction that we have the right to fight to conquer democracy and
freedom for Venezuela. Thank God I am not alone in these ideas, in this conviction to fight. We
are millions; we are that majority who are ready to fight for a change towards democracy in
Venezuela. They might imprison me and thousand others but they may never imprison the
fighting spirit that with the young people in the vanguard walk along the streets of the cities, the
quarters and shantytowns of all Venezuela. Today Venezuela decided to change, my
imprisonment and that of many others is only the face of a dictatorship weaker and weaker and
with less popular support which pretends to hold onto the power, refraining, silencing the critical
voices and criminalizing the protest.
The political reasons of my imprisonment are clearly exposed in the accusation presented
by the provisory prosecutors, Franklin Nieves Capace, Nardin Sanabria Bernatte, Juan Canelón
Marín, Guendy Duque Carvajal and José Foti González before the 16th Court of Control of the
Metropolitan Area of Caracas. From the document presented by the Office of the Public
Prosecutor before the Court of Control there are four resulting accusations or offenses against
me. My best defense before to denounce this case and as a political prisoner is precisely the
accusations made by such prosecutors against me.
There are four accusations made against me by the Office of the Public Prosecutor:
First Accusation:
“Leopoldo López . . . made calls for violence, there was disregard of the legitimate authorities
and disobedience of the laws which triggered the excessive attack by a group of persons who
acted individually but determined by the speeches of the mentioned citizen against the
headquarters of the Office of the Public Prosecutor.” p. 2.
Second Accusation:
The reason was for denouncing the State as corrupt, inefficient and anti-democratic.
(Leopoldo López) intensified his speech and began a public and aggressive campaign against the
President of the Republic and the Institutions of the State, making aware to the public with his
speech that this government has ties with drug dealers, besides being corrupt, oppressing,
inefficient, and anti-democratic and that it was necessary to go out to conquer the democracy and
that in order to reach this objective the change or results only would be possible with the people
in the streets.” p. 3.
Third Accusation, made by the Office of the Public Prosecutor against me for having called the
Venezuelan people to conquer democracy:
“It is so that in a conclusive way (Leopoldo López) affirmed “WE HAVE TO GO OUT TO
CONQUER DEMOCRACY” (capital letters by the Office of the Public Prosecutor, that is, that
his purpose was no other than to sow the idea among his followers that only in the street he may
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generate a change, inviting them to be actors, with the purpose of ignoring the legitimacy of the
National Executive as well as the heads of the Public Authorities. (p. 3) . . . Which objective was
to carry out a deep and total change with the purpose of substituting the authorities from their
posts, since in its criteria the problem (of the country and of the Venezuelans) was not only
Nicolás Maduro, but also all the heads of the public authorities which have been seized. (p. 4) . .
. All of these (making reference to the damages caused to the headquarters of the Office of the
Public Prosecutor) were executed as a consequence of the persuasion and induction carried out
by citizen Leopoldo López, who exercised a strong influence, not only in their way of thinking,
but also in the potential actions of their targets who fully acted and complied his message.” (p.
5).
Fourth Accusation, made by the Office of the Public Prosecutor, pretends to extend the scope of
responsibility in a vague manner to other persons arguing the existence of a “criminal structure”
with a criminal plan to promote the resignation or way out of Nicolás Maduro.
“It is evident that all the instrumentation employed by citizen Leopoldo López, was not carried
out per se, necessarily he counted with a criminal structure . . . to develop his criminal plan,
which was no other than to persuade or induce a group of persons not to recognize the legitimate
authorities and the laws in order to promote the dismissal of the President of the Republic.” (p.
5.)
These four accusations are based, according to the prosecutors of the Office of the
Prosecution Office in the testimony of 115 witnesses out of which 110 are officers from the
Office of the prosecution Office and from the Government; the presentation and analysis of 4
videos with political speeches that I really made and of which I assume what I said, from the
beginning to the end of each one; and in a report issued by the prosecutors. It is important to
emphasize that the prosecutors denied all our requests; the presentation of 30 eyewitnesses was
denied as well; the promotion of a balanced team and of mutual agreement for the analysis of the
speeches was also denied.
The conclusion of the Office of the Public Prosecutor is to implicate me four offenses for
these facts, such as: damages, fire, incitement and association to commit crime.
Without sound evidence, since there are none, preventing a just defense and following a
political guideline, the prosecutors are accusing me of crimes in which I did not participate,
manipulating the events and keeping me as a prisoner of the dictatorship.
Following is my answer to each one of the four charges that the prosecutors are making
against me:
The first charge made by the Office of the Public Prosecutor is calling for violence.
False. I reject totally and absolutely the claim of the prosecutors to conclude that our speech,
before, during and after February 12, had a subliminal message to call violence. I clearly state:
“subliminal message” for two reasons: First, the technical report submitted by the Office of the
Public Prosecutor, which was prepared by an obedient professional and member of the ruling
party concludes that the link between my words and the actions by dozens of protesters is of such
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magnitude that without calling the violence, the interpretation of the protesters is that in fact
there was a call for violence. That is, because a subliminal, message which was not said but that
it was in fact understood? And the second reason, why all the videos, photographs recorded by
the Office of the Public Prosecutor are a clearly and unquestionably call to a NON VIOLENT
protest in the streets (See speeches 23E, 2F, 12F).
The following paragraph of the indictment summarizes the heart of the argument logic of
the Prosecutors is summarized as follows:
“Leopoldo López has a discursive ethos that dominates and impacts on the ethos of its recipients;
as a result, everything that the sender tells the receivers, would exert a strong influence, not only
in their way of thinking but also in the potential actions that the receivers may carry out as a
consequence. At this point, the discursive force and the ascendancy of the citizen Leopoldo
López as a political leader is unquestionable because it has served as a catalyst of discomfort felt
by a significant part of the Venezuelan population; from this point whatever he says may
transmit to his audience is transferred so effectively that his recipients feel encouraged to follow,
in actions, what he is indicating they should do, although he does not clearly explains it (that is,
subliminal).”
It is clear, explicitly clear, that the accusation against me is based on criminalization, the
prohibition of my ideas, proposals and actions, which it is worth to say, are now supported by the
majority of Venezuelans.
The accusation against me, based on several speeches I made between January 23 and
February 12 has, as a best defense, the same speeches, either read or seen from the beginning to
the end, without editing, without manipulation. In these speeches I clearly explain our political
proposal that, based on a critical analysis of the present crisis, we propose a way out, a deep
political change activated from the street, with non-violent actions and materialized through the
popular call to one of the four alternatives offered by the Constitution to bring about a political
change.
On January 23 we made a call to the rise of our consciousness, the uprising of the
optimistic spirit of the Venezuelan people that we really can have a better Venezuela. A call to
the streets made in commemoration of the “23 January 1958,” celebrated by government and
opposition, when the Venezuelan people rose in the streets against the dictatorship of Marcos
Pérez Jiménez. That day we called upon the celebration of Popular Assemblies throughout
Venezuela to discuss the options to a way out of the social, economic and political crisis which
we live, which assemblies were to be held on February 2nd.
On February 2nd hundreds of assemblies were held throughout Venezuela, some large,
some smaller, ones were held in squares, others in houses or streets. Different organizations,
individuals and political parties participated with different protests. The conclusion was to
assume the commitment of peacefully protesting in the street for a better country.
During my presentation (the video with the full intervention was presented by the Office
of the Public Prosecutor as evidence), explains the non-violent character of our call:
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“These struggles, brothers and sisters, must have a clear conduction and methodology, based on
non-violence.” Non-violence has been the most effective method of struggle that was invented
by the oppressed people. Non-violence does not mean passivity, non-violence does not mean
bowing our heads, non-violence does not mean to move backwards. Non-violence is not to be
afraid, it means challenging; non-violence means to be on the streets, non-violence means to
have a state of awareness where we do not allow anyone to manipulate us."
Our vocation is the change, our space is the street, our strategy is non-violence. Our
commitment is the way out, which is in the Constitution (see speech 2F, Plaza Brion).
The February 2 assemblies were a major step in the performance of non-violent protest.
Despite the peaceful attitude of the protesters, that day the repressive face of the regime was
shown. An announcement of what would come. Several students and young people were
prisoners. Six in Nueva Esparta and six in Táchira. In both cases these detainees were treated as
terrorists of highest risk. Moved with a disproportionately deployment of police: helicopters,
boats, vans outside of their States. This repressive action generated a great discomfort,
especially in young people, which in the case of Táchira were also protesting the rape of a female
student.
On February 9, when I was about to board a Conviasa flight via Santo Domingo, Táchira,
I was pulled from the aircraft violently and unjustified, by the State security bodies which did not
offer any type of explanations and who simply said: “we have orders not to let you take this
flight.” I mention this incident, since the words that I said upon leaving the plane in Maiquetia
are part of the evidence submitted by the Office of the Public Prosecutor. In these words, I
rejected such abuse since it is a reflex of what happens every day to millions of Venezuelans
who are victims of abuse and indifference by public officers.
On February 12, as we had called, thousands of people took the streets in all Venezuela.
In Caracas, the demonstration began in Plaza Venezuela. There, once more we explained our
proposal to the disaster that we live in Venezuela, to the fact that we don't live in a democracy,
that there is a dictatorship in Venezuela. We proposed to activate the protest, the right to protest
in the street as a popular impulse driven to build the democratic and constitutional road to a
political change. The way out from the disaster, the output of the dictatorship and the conquest
of democracy (see the 12F speech video in Plaza Venezuela, Caracas).
From Plaza Venezuela we left heading to the headquarters of the Office of the Public
Prosecutor, as reported to the authorities. The demonstration arrived to the Office of the Public
Prosecutor, massively, in peace and without violence.
There, we protested in peace and without violence, for more than two hours. We
massively left in peace and without violence. We finished our protest without any type of
violent demonstration. As a support of these declarations you may see the videos recording the
declarations made to the media always calling to non-violence.
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The description in detail of what happened that day was given at a press conference the
same February 12 at night (see statements 12F night).
After thousands and thousands of protesters retired from the site, the vandalism events in
front of the headquarters of Office of the Public Prosecutor took place. As we previously
explained the intention of the prosecutors is to establish a criminal link between my words and
the actions of young people, who threw objects at the headquarters of the MP.
What calls the attention with regard to the narrative of the facts by the Office of the
Public Prosecutor MP, is that it ignores completely the more relevant facts occurred that day
which is the murder of Juan Montoya and Bassil Da Costa by SEBIN officials.
In a twisted way, the Public Prosecutors establish a line of causality between my words
and the stones thrown at the building, ignoring the fact that the violent reaction of the
demonstrators was caused by these two murders carried out by the SEBIN officials; SEBIN
officials are credited as bodyguards of the Minister Rodríguez Torres, accompanied by armed
civilians, who fired against the protestors “Avenida Urdaneta.” Two persons were killed.
SEBIN returned to the site of the murders, manipulated the scene of the crime withdrawing
evidence and never providing any kind of explanations. Nobody ever explained what the SEBIN
was doing in the march if Maduro confessed that he had given orders to keep the military force
quartered in their corresponding places. Who gave the order to get out of the barracks? Who
gave the order to shoot? To shoot against the protesters in a command way action, as shown in
the videos, is not a spontaneous action. Someone gave the order. Was it Manuel Bernal, Director
of the SEBIN which was removed the same 14F and sent to another administrative position
without any explanation? Perhaps the order was given by Minister Rodríguez Torres, former
head of the SEBIN and Minister in charge of the present police entity? Why Manuel Bernal or
Rodriguez Torres have not clarified to the justice what kind of responsibility they had in these
murders? They must have given the order to SEBIN to go to the march and shoot, if they were
not the responsible, who was? Who gave the order?
The other element about the responsibility of the security forces in the events, is the
passive presence of the “Policía Nacional Bolivariana” and the “Guardia Nacional Bolivariana”
before the facts against the headquarters of the Office of the Public Prosecutor MP who during
45 minutes, and being only 20 meters away from the site of the incident did not act, they did
nothing. Who gave the order to the “Guardia Nacional Bolivariana” to prevent these attacks
against the site of the Office of the Public Prosecutor? Obviously, it is more than clear that there
is a clear intention behind the passivity of the “Policía Nacional Bolivariana” the “Guardia
Nacional”? To allow the actions and then to accuse the protesters and their conveners as violent
people. It was a plan, a trap that Maduro himself announced the night before when he said:
“tomorrow there will be a dead man.” How did Maduro know? Why there are so many
questions before the actions and omissions of the Institutions of the State?
On this first charge, of having instigated vandalism acts as a result of my speech, we may
conclude that there are no elements that establish this relation and that rather the violent events
that took place on such a date are the responsibility, by action and omission, of the Venezuelan
State (see note on the direct call made by Ameliach to violence).
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The second accusation brought by the Office of the Public Prosecutor against me is
having denounced as corrupt, inefficient, oppressive and anti-democratic Maduro´s Government
and the Venezuelan State. I fully assume my responsibility on the above accusations. I not only
take responsibility for having made such accusations but I take this opportunity to ratify each and
every one of them as these is the pure and inviolable truth.
If it is a crime to denounce corruption, inefficiency, loss of freedom and the antidemocratic vocation of those who run the government, I assume my responsibility.
Taking into consideration that the Office of the Public Prosecutor questions and
criminalizes my complaint about the presence of a corrupt State, inefficient, oppressive and antidemocratic which has been the result of the progressive dismantling of the democratic State and
the unconstitutional installation and contrary to the national spirit, of a dictatorship, it is
appropriate to make a balance of the present situation of the nation.
This balance is confirmed into two interdependent blocks. The cause and effects of the
disaster. The responsible ones and the affected people. The cause of the current crisis in all its
dimensions, is the installation of a model of an authoritarian Government, the dictatorship. The
effects, the consequences of this dictatorship model are the hardships now suffered by our people
in the economic, social and political. That is, the problems we Venezuelans suffer today,
shortages, queues, inflation, insecurity, impunity, injustice and loss of freedom are not
consequences of external factors, of an economic war or much less an action from the citizens.
The problems, all of them, have their origin in the lack of democracy and the asphyxia of
freedom. They are the result of a State kidnapped by sectarian political and economic interests
of a small elite that manipulates the institutions, derogating the Constitution by way of the facts,
which have been placed from origin and performance outside of the Constitution and the national
interest, which has made all public authorities assume a condition of illegitimacy. Unlawful in
origin and in performance.
Democratic legitimacy is what differentiates the democracy from another system, it is
recognized when evaluating the legitimacy of origin and legitimacy of the performance in a
democratic system.
The legitimacy of origin refers to the fact that it was the person who, as set out in the
Constitution, has elected its representatives. In this sense the elections on April 14, 2013, when
Nicolás Maduro was proclaimed President, represent a contested and non-resolved chapter about
the legitimacy of the democratic origin. In the first place, on January 2013 the Supreme Court of
Justice issued a ruling allowing, contrary to the provisions of the Constitution, that a Vice
President in charge of the Presidency is a presidential candidate as well. In the second place, the
electoral results of April 14, leave a reasonable doubt on the validity of more than 200,000
contested ballots that might have made a difference in the outcome of the elections. Despite
having reported with sufficient evidence the irregular usurpation of identities, double or triple
votes, and violence at the polls that could have generated the cancellation of enough votes to
change the outcome of the election, there was never a full audit of the congruence between the
electoral notebooks, the results of the voting machines and the ballots deposited in the boxes.
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Despite the fact that this audit was requested to Maduro who readily accepted on the night of
April 14 and being this also an express request by the UNASUR, this audit was never conducted.
Upon the non-successful closing of this doubt, for more than half of the Venezuelan population
Maduro simply seized the elections just as the “Mesa de la Unidad” and Henrique Capriles
denounced in the days after the election of April 14.
In addition to this severe questioning of the electoral legitimacy of the triumph of
Maduro, weeks after the election there emerged evidence that allegedly questioned the
Venezuelan nationality of Maduro. These signs indicate that Nicolas Maduro is presumably of
Colombian nationality, which would prevent him, by constitutional provision, to exercise the
Presidency of the Republic. This doubt has not been satisfactorily clarified.
On the legitimacy of the origin of the other public authorities we may point out the fact of
several designations of people openly militant of the governing party, which would also
constitutionally prevent them from exercising the maximum responsibilities of the Public
Powers. In addition to this questioning, there is the fact that several officials exercise the highest
positions in the public powers having their period expired. Such is the case of the subcomptroller who has been performing illegally the post of Comptroller for more than four years.
Three principals of the CNE (National Election Council) have their posts already expired and
eleven members of the Supreme Court of Justice have also expired periods. This situation has
been recently recognized by the regime who has been announcing the constitution of
commissions to propose the replacement of these officials.
About the legitimacy of democratic performance of the Venezuelan State, that is, full
compliance with the Constitution, the autonomy of the public powers, the rule of law, the
guarantee of fundamental freedoms, the politicization of the national armed forces and the
respect of all rights for all people, we can make a long and detailed balance concluding in the sad
statement that in Venezuela systematically and permanently the conditions which make of a
State a democratic system are being violated. For limitation of space, we shall refer only to
some of these violations to the democratic system.
The justice system made up by the courts, the Office of the Public Prosecutor and the
Office of the Ombudsman, are highly corrupted and kidnapped by political manipulation. Most
of the judges are provisional, temporary, or substituted judges who are removed to convenience
of political interests. Upon the absence of the judge´s autonomy and by not having stability, the
decisions issued are highly permeable to political manipulation. The same provisional situation is
present in the Prosecutor's Office. Example of this situation, is our own case. All the
prosecutors who are charging me are provisional and the female judge who was to serve as
alternate, was recently removed and replaced. This unstable situation has been denounced on a
permanent basis by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and various nongovernmental organizations as one of the main causes of the breakdown of Justice in Venezuela
On the performance of the powers that includes the system of justice, the result is
regrettable. Today Venezuela has the country's highest rates of insecurity in South America.
Just 2% of homicides are resolved by the Public Prosecutor. Every year the number of
homicides, kidnappings, and crime in general increases. Despite having announced 14 security
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plans, each year is more violent than the previous one. During 2012, 21,000 homicides were
recorded; during 2013 more than 25,000 were recorded, and 2014 is projected with an increase in
this figure. In addition to the increase of crimes, increasing impunity and the procedural delay,
the prison crisis, a prolonged crisis that worsens every year with higher levels of overcrowding
and killings in prisons, closing the cycle of a dysfunctional, corrupt and anti-democratic system
of security and justice dysfunctional, corrupt and anti-democratic in the absence of prevention,
the organization of the police force, the Office of the Public Prosecutor, courts and prison
system. A system of justice that suffers from permanent violations of human rights of thousands
of Venezuelans who upon coming into contact with the Venezuelan Justice are encountered with
chronic inefficiencies, corruption checkpoints and politicization preventing the exercise of
justice.
To these permanent violations of human rights, the institution that was conceived by the
1999 Constitution to be the voice of the oppressed, the Office of the Ombudsman, has become an
institution accomplice of the power, which has not had a single case of exemplary justice against
abuses of power and violations of human rights by the Venezuelan State.
In regard to the Office of the General Comptroller of the Republic, the responsible entity
for ensuring the healthy and transparent administration of the State, it also has become an
appendage of the political structure taken by assault by the Venezuelan State. In addition to more
than four years of unlawful exercising the responsibility as General Comptroller in the
permanent absence of Clodosbaldo Russian, the Comptroller has not achieved a firm and
transparent work against corruption.
In regard to the cases of corruption reported to the Office of the Comptroller and the
public opinion we could draw up a long list, but with the intention of presenting the complicity
of the Office of the Comptroller with corruption and, as an example, I can mention the largest
embezzlement case of corruption in the history of Venezuela. Even in times of Guzmán Blanco
there had never been a fraud of such magnitude which was the theft of more than 30 billion
dollars handed over by CADIVI to fake companies, those call “briefcase companies” linked with
the senior leaders of the ruling party. This case is emblematic by the magnitude and the direct
impact that has had on the well-being of the Venezuelan people.
During 2013, several State officials reported the loss of tens of billions of dollars in
fraudulent assignments and “briefcase companies.” The President of the Venezuelan Central
Bank, Ms. Edmme Betancourt, made the first announcement, followed by the announcement
from the Finance Minister Jorge Giordani, Minister of Internal Affairs and Justice Miguel
Rodriguez Torres, and finally by the President of PDVSA and Economy, Rafael Ramírez. All
agreed in reporting the fraud of 30 billion dollars equivalent to 50% of the annual income
resulting from the sale of oil or 130% of international reserves of the Republic.
Thirty billion dollars were stolen and, with a baring face and under the most absolute
impunity, they denounced this fact and simply “nothings happens”. No one is guilty, no one
knows where the dollars are, or who, or why the delivery of this amount was authorized to
phantom companies. The Office of the Comptroller has not investigated. In recent statements,
the lady Comptroller in charge said that in 2007 she had reported that there were “Briefcases
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Companies” but nothing happened. Why nothing happens? Because this fraud is the best
example of the installation of a true criminal structure within the Venezuelan State, from which
its highest level has been enriched with the resources of all Venezuelans with impunity. Why
Manuel Barroso, former President of CADIVI has not been brought to Justice? Why has Rafael
Ramírez not explained to the country what happened with those dollars that necessarily passed
through PDVSA? Why the President of the Central Bank, Nelson Merentes has not explained to
the justice and to the country the fate of a number of dollars greater than its international
reserves? The answer is clear: those dollars were handed out to a cast of “entrepreneurs” that far
from being productive entrepreneurs had the function of figureheads of the high hierarchy of
power. Each company that irregularly received US dollars is linked to some patron that at a
given time transacted with a telephone call or with a prior agreement the approval of delivering
preferential dollars without complying with the appropriate requirements.
To open the black box of the CADIVI dollars, is to open a complex network of
influences, extortion, and abuse of power that would compromise a good part of the high
hierarchy of the official power.
This corruption scandal is of such magnitude that today the Venezuelan people are
paying the consequences with shortages, inflation, and with the destruction of the national
production apparatus that in addition to not receiving timely dollars to operate, its activities have
been subjected to an economic model that has been a grind of regulations, threats and corruption
that have destroyed the domestic production.
We could extend our statements on the magnitude and impact of corruption acts, which
have counted with the indispensable ally and complicity of the Office of the General Comptroller
of the Republic.
About the illegitimacy of the performance of the Electoral Power, there is “plenty of
fabric to be cut.” Political coercion and manipulation of processes, laws, and decisions are in
place long ago. The first element is the public and notorious fact that two of the Principals of the
Electoral Power were enrolled militants of the Government (PSUV) and that 4 of the 5 Principals
have shown their open political inclination towards the ruling party.
Lack of transparency, dark contractual documents, permissiveness of unfair and
unbalanced campaigns in favor of the regime, politicization of the electoral technical structure,
change of electoral circuit in favor of the ruling party, and the negative of having done an audit
of the voting papers on April 14 after the disputed presidential election set a very negative and
anti-democratic the CNE's picture as electoral referee.
Finally the performance of the National Assembly was also contrary to the spirit of the
constitutional and democratic performance. To name some examples, the National Assembly
making use of an illegitimate simple majority, approved the so called “Plan of the Homeland” as
a law, being this document a clear expression of authoritarianism and violative of the
Constitution as it was clearly and accurately denounced by the Venezuelan Episcopal
Conference. In addition to approving laws contrary to the Constitution, the handling of the
Assembly reached the level of democratic outrage that, to date, three deputies from the
opposition, elected under the alliance of the Democratic Unit, have been removed illegally from
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their parliamentary seat. Such is the case of Nora Bracho, Richard Nardo and Maria Corina
Machado.
This brief diagnosis of the legitimacy of origin and performance of public powers in
Venezuela leads us to conclude that in Venezuela, we cannot speak of the entry into force of a
Democratic System. In Venezuela there is no democracy, there is a dictatorship installed by the
ruling party.
Besides the poor democratic performance of the institutions of the State, there are some
other signs of the anti-democratic vocation of the regime that are worthwhile to point out. The
loss of strategic and territorial sovereignty also represents a side of the anti-democracy installed
in the Venezuelan State.
In the first place, the loss of sovereignty or irresponsible management of territorial
sovereignty. This issue highlights the case of virtual delivery of the Essequibo to the Republic of
Guyana by the Maduro Government. Since 2011 the Government of the Republic of Guyana has
acted in a hostile manner against Venezuela. In September 2011 Guyana notifies the United
Nations a unilateral issue about its continental platform in 300 nautical miles. Venezuela was not
notified. Venezuela answered but obviously in accommodating terms because on September of
2013 some maps were published giving account of concessions for the exploration and
exploitation of oil which include Venezuelan territory. In October of the same year, a
Panamanian-flagged vessel contracted by the company Anadarko, franchised by Guyana was
identified on Venezuelan territorial waters. The diplomatic and military response by the
Venezuelan State has not been at the level of the threat, which constitutes a risk to give a
Venezuelan territory back by the negligence of the State as it occurred during the Governments
of Guzmán Blanco, Cipriano Castro and Juan Vicente Gómez.
The problem of territorial integrity is also present in the western border with Colombia
where due to the negligence of the authorities and the installation of a system of corrupted
interests has allowed a large scale smuggling and the presence of criminal organizations and
irregular groups that terrorize and have subjected the people of the border with criminal practices
such as kidnapping, the generalized “vaccination” and the penetration of these groups in the
handling of some State institutions as well as the presence of drug trafficking in the Venezuelan
territory.
The loss of sovereignty in the strategic field has been demonstrated by the presence of
representatives of the Cuban regime on such sensitive and strategic issues as the policy of
importation of food, handling of State intelligence, and the conduction of military affairs. One of
the pieces of evidence of the Cuban presence in the military field was the reverence to the Cuban
flag at the military installation of the Paramacay Fort at the State of Carabobo.
Finally, another area where it is evident the anti-democratic vocation and contrary to the
Constitution is the management of the national armed forces.
According to Article 338 of the Constitution “the armed force constitutes an institution
essentially professional without political militancy . . . in the execution of their duties is the
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exclusive service to the nation and in no case to a any political partiality.” Unfortunately, the
facts show otherwise; it is worrying the progressive penetration of the politics in the national
armed forces. It is public and notorious the subordination of the National Armed Forces to the
political partiality that represents the ruling party. Political acts where the staff and especially
the military officials are forced to politically subordinate to the ruling party. Military harassment
conditioned by political loyalty, not merit as laid down in Article 330 of the Constitution. The
installation of political slogans as part of the day-to-day organization of military life. Unjustified
and untimely promotions of political components outside of the military institution with the
intention of merging more and more the National Armed Forces with the Political Party of the
Government – PSUV following the style and example of the behavior of the Cuban National
Armed Forces and the Cuban Communist party.
These are some of the features of the anti-democratic and unconstitutional handling of the
Venezuelan State. Which clarification is relevant to our case since our calling out of the disaster,
the dictatorship, is based on specific facts that deserve a strong and patriotic response of all
Venezuelan democrats
Although the causes that lead us to say that today we do not live in democracy in
Venezuela and that we are rather subject to a dictatorship, have been exhibited, its effects on the
population are not just political. The cause, the origin of the crisis in Venezuela is installing a
non-democratic system, which is corrupt, repressive and inefficient, the effects are economic,
social and political affecting the entire population.
As it has been argued and demonstrated empirically by visionaries like Amartya Sen,
Roberto Unger and William Stanley, among many others, there can be no progress, i.e. welfare,
overcoming poverty, if there is no freedom.
Freedom is an indivisible concept, you cannot have partial freedom. Without freedom of
expression, there can be no freedom, without freedom there can be no freedom to protest, and so
on.
The democratic well-being is the coexistence of successful and efficient public policies
with the guarantee of freedom for citizens. Social democracy as it emerges from the text of the
Constitution is the conquest of all rights for all Venezuelans without anyone being excluded.
The effects of a corrupt, inefficient system, repressive and anti-democratic touch the lives
of all Venezuelans, with the exception of the small ruling elite.
The effects of the dictatorship:
The economic collapse. Today in Venezuela, we are experiencing an economic crisis due
to the installation of a failed economic model that the regime insists on keeping. Controls of
unsustainable prices, exaggerated regulations, expropriations, absence of legal certainty,
addiction to imports and the progressive destruction of the national productive apparatus are the
characteristics of an economic model that despite living the largest oil boom cycle in 100 years,
has generated the highest levels of inflation in Latin America: 56% in 2013 and 80% by 2014
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projections. The highest shortage of the continent, which is approaching 30%, evident every day
everywhere with long queues to purchase commodities. An exaggerated and non-transparent
debt to the nation. The collapse of the oil industry which has lost production capacity more than
700 tbd of conventional crudes from 2008, the highest rate of labor and environmental accidents
and an increase in the debt of PDVSA's $50 billion to $2.9 billion (between 2006-2013). They
are all effects, consequences of the application of an anti-democratic and contrary to the
Constitution.
The consequence of the anti-democratic system is that in Venezuela we have an
education system that does not educate, of health that does not heal the sick, of social security
that does not cover the unprotected, of justice that is not fair, of citizen security that does not
protect, and of defense that does not defend our sovereignty.
It is in the face of this collapse of democracy, the kidnapping of democratic institutions
and the progressive installation of a dictatorship that we have pronounced ourselves in favor of
the conquest of democracy.
Being this the third accusation of the Office of the Public Prosecutor against me, the call
to the street to enable the constitutional options that allow by way of popular initiative, it was
necessary to expose in a detailed and schematic way the reasons that have led us to affirm that in
Venezuela we don't live under a democratic regime.
To the conclusion that in Venezuela we don't live in a democracy, and following our
patriotic, democratic and nationalist responsibility, we have made a concrete proposal to
articulate an exit to the crisis, an output of dictatorship by popular, democratic and constitutional
way. This proposal, has been called the “The way out.”
As it is clearly shown in all videos and records evidenced by the Office of the Public
Prosecutor, the proposal that we made to the Venezuelan people and why today I am prisoner in
Ramo Verde and probably subjected to a political trial, is specific, popular, and framed in the
Constitution.
Taking into account the progressive advancement of the installation of a dictatorship in
Venezuela we have made a call to nonviolent protest in the streets with the intention of activating
any of the four constitutional options that can trigger political change for the restoration of
democracy and freedom in Venezuela by way of popular initiative.
The present Constitution contemplates as options to achieve a political change the
following:
a) The resignation of the President of the Republic. Article 233 of the Constitution.
b) The reform or amendment with the intention to reduce, shorten, constitutional period, and
proceed to a replacement of those responsible for the Government as it contemplates the
Constitution. Article 340, 341 and 342 of the Constitution. The call for a national
constituent Assembly with the intention of transforming the State and restore democracy
and freedom in Venezuela. Article 347 and 348 of the Constitution.
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c) The call for a national constituent Assembly with the intention of transforming the State
and restore democracy and freedom in Venezuela. Article 347 and 348 of the
Constitution.
In all public and private presentations which we have made about the “way out” of the
dictatorship, we have based them on the activation of the popular protest as the common
denominator to achieve the popular organization and the enabled critical mass that allows the
desire of the majority of the Venezuelan people wanting a political change (more than 60%
according to various opinion polls), can be carried out by activating a popular initiative from one
of the options contemplated in the Constitution to produce the necessary political change for
Venezuela.
The street, the popular protest which has been criminalized by the State apparatus that
has used all its power, economic, diplomatic, law enforcement, and communication to disqualify
this initiative of protest and to protesters as terrorists covering a fascist plan for Venezuela.
Nothing is further from reality calling our proposal fascist.
So, it is clear that our proposal of the “way out” is not a call to the violent insurrection or
a coup d´etat as it relates to our own history, which only the military forces can carry out. Our
proposal is then the call for a national protest in the streets, based in the sacred concept of the
self-determination of people and endorsed by the Constitution, which allows the realization of a
political change as the way out to the deep crisis which we live today in Venezuela.
In this context, I fully assume my responsibility to be summoned to protest, to the street,
with the intention to win democracy and freedom for all Venezuelans.
It is important to stress that our proposal is not an empty change of content, it is not a
leap into the dark as it has tried to point out the Office of the Public Prosecutor, as the
interlocutors of the dictatorship, in its accusation against me. Our proposal is a way out from the
dictatorship of the corrupt, inefficient, and anti-democratic system that we have in Venezuela, so
that once and for all after conquering the political change we can build together the path towards
a strong, inclusive democracy as guarantor of freedom for all which can be materialized in the
collective desire that all rights are a reality for all people. A true social democracy centered in
each Venezuelan and the materialization of all and each one of the rights that are enshrined in the
Constitution.
To achieve this step from dictatorship to democracy, driven by the popular initiative and
the implementation of the Constitution it is required the transformation of the State in three
dimensions.
The first is to have a Government and an efficient state that can make rights a reality: an
education that educate, a health system that heals the sick, a social security system that protect
the unprotected, an economic system that produces jobs and prosperity, a system of citizen
security that protect and provide security for all.
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The second is a system of justice that is really fair. To avoid anyone being outside in the
realization of their rights. That all Venezuelans are equal before the law.
And the third is active conscience, permanently active, of every Venezuelan in function
of the defense and conquest of their rights.
Yes, it is possible to achieve a better Venezuela, much better than what we have today,
but that country that we want cannot arrive by itself. It is imperative that every Venezuelan
assumes its responsibility to the present situation of generalized crisis and to become an active
and permanent factor in the construction of the road that will take us out from the dictatorship
and allows us to conquer freedom and democracy.
All the options that we propose as a constitutional “way out” to the political and
economic crisis, social and democratic legitimacy, must be activated by way of the popular
initiative. This means that one of the responsibilities which should take this movement of nonviolent struggle is the organization of popular support for the back-up of any of the alternatives:
reform, amendment or call to a national constituent Assembly in the mandate to replace the
powers that have been kidnapped.
Not only they are proposals activated by popular initiative, they all lead to a process of
electoral legitimacy.
Just as all constitutional ways out of the crisis have to rely on an active street movement,
all of them also lead to a process of electoral legitimacy.
A process of political change as we are proposing, from the bottom and upwards, starting
with the people, the common citizen, ordinary people and for the people, is not a simple process,
but it is not only possible since such roads are clearly defined in the Constitution. Our proposal
for political change, the way out of the dictatorship begins and ends in the exercise of the
sovereignty of the Venezuelan people.
To take the street as the ground of our struggle is a right that we Venezuelans have.
Since the history is history and the people are people in the face of the oppression of the people
have raised its voice. In democracy it is precisely the idea that it is the people who defines its
authorities.
The right to protest is part of the essence of a democracy but if there is no right to the free
expression and protest the alternative of power cannot be materialized. In Venezuela the protest
is a constitutionally guaranteed right. In Article 68 of the Constitution it is clear that there are no
limitations to a peaceful and non-violent protest.
Since February 12 the regime has continued its policy of criminalizing the protests. As
Marino Alvarado from Provea, has said: “It cannot be said that it is only a strategy of the
Government, it is a State policy because all judicial and political structure is used to criminalize
the protest.”
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Up to April 28, the State/regime has arrested 2,500 persons of which, 1,406 are kept
under precautionary measures and 106 have been deprived of their freedom. This balance
represents the face of judicial repression that accompanied by police repression and of armed
groups from the regime set a sophisticated apparatus of social repression.
According to COFAVIC Liliana Ortega, the situation lived in Venezuela since February
12 is a situation similar to that of the Caracazo in 1989: “The same answer that we had from the
Government of Carlos Andrés Pérez with respect to the Caracazo, we have had it as well from
the Maduro Government in regard to the protesters. The victims have been criminalized, serious
violations to human rights have been disregarded and the actions of the protests have been
minimized.”
The bravery of the people into the street and the consolidation of a sense of change
expressing in a same movement the various reasons that have generated the outrage of millions,
the response of the regime has been the desire of imposing a curfew by way of an
accommodative and anti-democratic ruling of the TSJ. It is our right, the right of the Venezuelan
people, to disregard such illegal and anti-democratic ruling. While that sentence is another
authoritative expression, it also represents a positive sign since, historically, it is when regimes
are being cornered that they engage in the use of tools such as the pretension of prohibiting
pacific and peaceful demonstrations by way of a Decree. That was the great mistake of the
British Empire before the father of non-violent struggle in current times, Mahatma Ghandi.
The fourth accusation from the Office of the Public Prosecutor represents the pretension
of the regime of not limiting its accusation against me, aims to expand this accusation to our
organization “Voluntad Popular.”
Our party “Voluntad Popular” has been victim of a permanent persecution and at all
levels of our leadership. A raid at our national headquarters, raids to regional headquarters,
detention of more than 100 activists, order of arrest of Antonio Rivero national leaders and of
our Political Coordinator, Carlos Vecchio, the imprisonment of our Mayor of San Cristóbal
Daniel Ceballos and the imprisonment of my person. It is evident the systematic persecution to
“Voluntad Popular.”
It is pertinent to point out that “Voluntad Popular” has been the only party undergoing
elections to choose the parish, municipal, regional, and national authorities of the political
organization. Voluntad Popular is a social democratic organization linked to the family of the
Socialist International. We organize ourselves in popular networks, teams democratically-elected
and social movements.
In the face of the present deep crisis going through the country and after several days of
deliberation at regional and national level, “Voluntad Popular” democratically decided to assume
the proposal of a “Way Out” as an organizational and political route to face the reality imposed
by the dictatorship of Nicolas Maduro.
In the face of the events occurred since February 2, the permanent harassment by various
bodies and at all levels has been a State policy.
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The last episode of this judicial persecution was the request made by the political
collective “Tupamaro”, an organization with a public and notorious violent record, to the TSJ to
outlaw “Voluntad Popular”. The appeal was delivered to Francisco Carrasquero as rapporteur.
To all who are reading this document, I hereby confirm the above contents. In the face of
the accusations made against me by the Office of the Public Prosecutor about:
1. Having made calls to violence.
2. Having denounced the State and the Government as corrupt, inefficient and antidemocratic
3. Having made a call to go out to exercise the right to protest to conquer democracy in
Venezuela.
4. To link alleged organizations and persons as part of a criminal structure with a
criminal plan.
I reject, specifically, that we have done before, during, and after the February 12 was a
call to violence.
I assume my responsibility for having denounced the Venezuelan Sate and government as
corrupt, inefficient, repressive and anti-democratic.
I assume my responsibility in making a call to the streets to protest in a non violent way.
I assume my responsibility in making a call to consolidate a route to political and
constitutional change of the structure of the Venezuelan State.
I declare myself innocent from the charges made by the Office of the Public Prosecutor
on having committed criminal actions like damages, fires, instigation, and association to commit
crimes.
I am innocent from the crimes charged against me and responsible for having call protests
as an impulse for a political change in Venezuela.
I hereby deliver this testimony from my own handwriting and I confirm my denounce of
having been prevented from my right to participate in all the phases of the process and being able
to give my defense arguments.
In my condition of political and conscience prisoner.
Justice for all political prisoners and persecuted people.
Strength and faith!
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Appendix III – Opeds in Miami Herald, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New
York Times
February 16, 2015
End impunity for Venezuela’s human rights
violators
By Irwin Cotler and Jared Genser
A little over a year ago, Venezuelans took to the streets when student leaders organized a
massive protest with opposition politicians to respond to the rapidly deteriorating economic and
security situation. The protestors called for the resignation of President Nicolás Maduro. On that
day and over the subsequent months, the government responded with an iron fist, killing 43
people, arresting more than 3,000 and sending more than 70 to jail.
Reports from Venezuela today are sobering: Shortages of basic supplies have resulted in the
rationing of staples, hours-long lines for groceries and the transformation of supermarkets into
military zones. The economy is set to shrink another 7 percent in 2015, with inflation over 60
percent. A person is murdered approximately every 20 minutes. And with the decline in oil
prices, the country is on the verge of default. Yet especially as the domestic situation
deteriorates, the international community must demand Maduro respect the human rights of his
people, including immediately releasing all political prisoners in the country.
The current situation of Venezuela’s most prominent political prisoner, Leopoldo López, leader
of the opposition party Voluntad Popular — and our client — exemplifies the injustice. Though
López had issued a peaceful call to action, he was quickly branded public enemy No. 1 of
Venezuela’s authoritarian regime. Just after the major protest on Feb. 12, 2014, the government
claimed he was trying to overthrow it through violent means.
Subsequently, López turned himself in to Venezuelan military authorities in front of a crowd of
hundreds of thousands saying: “[I]f my imprisonment helps awaken our people, if it is good
enough to finally make Venezuela wake up so that the majority of those of us who want change
are able to effect that change peacefully and democratically … then it is worth it.”
López knew that his case was headed to a sham court, as an independent judiciary has become a
distant memory in Venezuela after 15 years of United Social Party rule. A year into his detention
and six months into his trial, perhaps the most surprising aspect of his case is that the
government hasn’t even tried to hide the fact that López is Maduro’s political prisoner.
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His trial has been a farce. Not only has the prosecution advanced the bizarre claim that López
used “subliminal messages” to incite his followers to violence, but Maduro has relentlessly
assailed him publicly, referring to him as a “murderer,” even though he hasn’t even been charged
with this crime. And the judge in his case admitted more than 100 witnesses for the prosecution
and denied all but two witnesses for the defense.
Most recently, in retaliation for his wife, Lilian, meeting Vice President Joe Biden, a dozen men
wearing all-black and ski masks and heavily armed destroyed everything in his cell and threw
him into a small isolation cell, with no toilet or running water.
Yet despite these ongoing injustices, López has continued his calls for a nonviolent solution to
Venezuela’s pending implosion. His outspoken advocacy has come at great personal sacrifice:
He has been held in solitary confinement in a military prison for a year, without access to his
family or counsel for extended periods. And as López’s human rights are infringed upon, the
government has proceeded with violating the rights of all Venezuelans. Just last month, the
Venezuelan Ministry of Defense authorized the use of lethal weapons by the national armed
forces against protestors to “prevent disorder.” The situation in Venezuela is bleak.
The United States has taken action to advance human rights in Venezuela. In September 2014,
President Obama called for Lopez’s release, and in December, Obama signed legislation that
imposes sanctions on Venezuelan government officials who have been complicit in human-rights
violations, though the legislation has yet to be implemented.
These sanctions follow a round of travel-visa bans. But this isn’t enough. With the thaw between
the United States and Cuba, the United States now has increased political capital in the region.
The U.S. government should join with like-minded countries to challenge Venezuela’s neighbors
in Latin America to press Maduro to end the impunity for human-rights violators. Obama must
also push this agenda at the U.N. Human Rights Council in March and the Summit of the
Americas in April.
Without the world’s further engagement, however, the deteriorating human-rights situation in
Venezuela will accelerate. Despite all his bluster, last week a beleaguered Maduro publicly
acknowledged his desire to better relations with the United States. But the United States
shouldn’t be fooled — it must increase the pressure on Maduro to respect the fundamental
human rights of all Venezuela’s people.
Irwin Cotler is a member of the Canadian Parliament and former Minister of Justice and
Attorney General of Canada. Jared Genser is an international human-rights lawyer. They serve
as international counsel to Leopoldo López.
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December 26, 2014
Letter From a Venezuelan Jail
I am one of scores of political prisoners locked away because of our words and ideas.
By Leopoldo López
Los Teques, Venezuela – My country, Venezuela, is on the verge of social and economic
collapse. This slow-motion disaster, nearly 15 years in the making, was not initiated by falling
oil prices or by mounting debts. It was set in motion by the authoritarian government’s hostility
toward human rights and the rule of law and the institutions that protect them.
I know this on an all-too personal level. I am writing from a military prison, where I have been
held since February as a result of speaking out against the government’s actions. I am one of
scores of political prisoners in my country who are locked away because of their words and
ideas.
This unjust incarceration has given me a firsthand view of the pervasive abuses—legal, mental
and physical—perpetrated by the ruling elite in my country. It has not been a good experience,
but it has been an enlightening one.
My isolation also has given me time to think and reflect on the larger crisis facing my country. It
has never been clearer to me that Venezuela’s road to ruin was paved years ago by a movement
to dismantle basic human rights and freedoms in the name of an illusory vision of achieving
greater good for the masses through the centralization of power.
When the current ruling party, the United Socialist Party, first took power in 1999, its supporters
viewed human rights as a luxury, not a necessity. Large segments of the population were living
in poverty, and in need of food, housing and security. Protecting free speech and the separation
of powers seemed frivolous. In the name of expediency, these values were compromised and
then dismantled entirely.
The legislature was neutered, allowing the executive to rule by decree without the checks and
balances that prevent government from veering off track. The judiciary was made accountable to
the ruling party, rendering the constitution and the law meaningless. In an infamous 2009 case,
Judge Mary Lourdes Afiuni was imprisoned for ordering the release of a businessman and
government critic who had been held for three years in pretrial detention, one year more than
allowed under Venezuelan law.
Meanwhile, political leaders—myself included—were persecuted and imprisoned, stifling the
competition of ideas that could have led to better decisions and policies. Independent news
organizations were dismantled, seized or driven out of business. The “sunshine that disinfects,”
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and the scrutiny that motivates good decision-making, no longer benefit our leadership.
Venezuela’s current president, Nicolás Maduro, has taken this to a terrible new low. Rights are
rationed as though they were scarce goods to be traded for other means of subsistence: You may
have employment if you give away your free speech. You may have some health benefits if you
give away your right to protest.
Apologists, many from other countries, including the U.S., say these sacrifices were and are for
the collective good of the country. Yet the lives of Venezuelans, especially the poor, are worse
by every measure. Inflation, at more than 60%, is rampant. Scarcity of basic goods has led to
empty shelves and long lines. Violent crime is skyrocketing and the murder rate is the second
highest in the world, behind only Honduras. The health-care system is collapsing. And many
financial experts are predicting a default on the country’s debts in a matter of months.
The challenges now facing Venezuela are complex and will require years of work on many
fronts. That work must begin with restoring the rights, freedoms and checks and balances that are
the proper foundation of civil society.
The international community has an important role to play—especially our neighbors in Latin
America. To remain silent is to be complicit in a disaster that doesn’t just impact Venezuela but
could have implications across the hemisphere. Organizations such as the Union of South
American Nations (Unasur) and the South American trade bloc Mercosur must come off the
sidelines. Countries such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Argentina must get
involved.
At home, our constitution provides a way forward if we will heed its words. Our proposal is
simple but powerful: All rights for all people. Not some rights for some people. No regime
should have the power to decide who gets access to which rights. This idea may be taken for
granted in other countries, but in my country, Venezuela, it is a dream worth fighting for.
Mr. López is the former mayor of the Chacao district of Caracas and the leader of the Popular
Will opposition party.
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July 21, 2014
Leopoldo Lopez’s Jailing Is a Symptom of a
Sick Venezuela
By Lilian Tintori
This year, my husband, Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López , spent his 43rd
birthday behind bars. To mark Leopoldo’s birthday, our children, Manuela, 4 , and Leopoldo, 1,
and I tried to bring him a birthday cake at the Ramo Verde military prison. We were turned
away. We were forced to celebrate on the street outside the prison, where our family sang
“Happy Birthday” to a life-size picture of him.
For our children, this was a poor substitute for seeing their father. It’s been a month since we last
visited Leopoldo, and we miss him each day. In his absence, I am a single mother, a
circumstance that has taken a toll on our family.
The irony is that my husband is not a criminal but rather a devoted father, husband and politician
whose “offense” was urging Venezuelans to peacefully exercise their rights to gather, protest and
express their views of our government. He sits in jail on charges of public incitement, property
damage and criminal conspiracy, which Amnesty International said “smack of a politically
motivated attempt to silence dissent.” The government has vowed to keep him in prison for a
decade.
In its eagerness to imprison my husband, the government has attempted to provide the
appearance of a legitimate judicial process. But make no mistake: The normal rules of evidence
and due process have not been applied. My husband was arrested in mid-January without
investigation, on the order of the president and without evidence. Numerous violations of legal
and human rights standards have been documented. In a recent hearing, the government actually
argued that my husband’s clear calls for nonviolence actually contained coded, subliminal
messages to provoke violence.
If my husband weren’t facing 10 years imprisonment, I would think these charges were a sick
joke.
Leopoldo is a politician. I am not. Elected mayor of the Chacao municipality of Caracas in 2000,
he served until 2008, when a wrongful disqualification from running for office went into effect.
If not for the ban, Leopoldo had planned to run for mayor of Caracas in 2008, a race he was
predicted to win. Further, a poll at the time suggested that in a hypothetical presidential election,
Leopoldo would have received a greater percentage of the vote than Hugo Chávez.
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No one should doubt why Leopoldo is in prison: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is afraid
of him, and he has great reason to be. Chávez did not deliver and Maduro has not delivered on
their promises, and they have systematically dismantled our fundamental freedoms — free
speech, freedom of association, freedom of the press and freedom to vote for candidates of our
choosing.
But despite more than a decade of persecution, my husband has not been afraid to call attention
to the rampant poverty, widespread violence and broken political system that plague our country.
As the founder and national coordinator of the political party Voluntad Popular, Leopoldo has
mobilized millions to advocate nonviolently for the constitutional exit of Maduro. It is my
husband’s success — and the forthcoming expiration of the political ban imposed on him in 2008
by Chávez — that scared Maduro.
Leopoldo’s trial is scheduled to resume this week, but let no one be fooled. There is no
presumption of innocence or due process of law for a political prisoner in Venezuela, whose
judicial system the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has repeatedly found to lack
independence and impartiality. And in so-called talks, which Leopoldo expected to be fruitless,
Maduro rejected all compromises and a call to release all political prisoners.
We need to send a message to the government that it cannot trample on the rights of its people
with impunity. Accordingly, I call on President Maduro to release my husband and the more
than 100 political prisoners being held in Venezuela. But my actions alone are not enough. My
husband needs the support of all countries that stand for freedom. I urge governments around the
world to take meaningful action to press Maduro to free the political prisoners in Venezuela.
Leopoldo is strong, and the longer he is in prison, the stronger his resolve becomes. Things do
look grim, however, for the Venezuela whose political system, economy and society have been
pushed into a downward spiral. Unless the international community takes targeted actions
against the Maduro regime, the Venezuelan people will face further suffering.
Lilian Tintori, wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López, lives in Caracas.
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March 25, 2014
Venezuela’s Failing State
By Leopoldo López
Los Teques, Venezuela — As I compose these words from the Ramo Verde military prison
outside Caracas, I am struck by how much Venezuelans have suffered.
For 15 years, the definition of “intolerable” in this country has declined by degrees until, to our
dismay, we found ourselves with one of the highest murder rates in the Western Hemisphere, a
57 percent inflation rate and a scarcity of basic goods unprecedented outside of wartime.
Our crippled economy is matched by an equally oppressive political climate. Since student
protests began on Feb. 4, more than 1,500 protesters have been detained and more than 50 have
reported that they were tortured while in police custody. Over 30 people, including security
forces and civilians, have died in the demonstrations. What started as a peaceful march against
crime on a university campus has exposed the depth of this government’s criminalization of
dissent.
I have been in prison for more than a month. On Feb. 12, I urged Venezuelans to exercise their
legal rights to protest and free speech — but to do so peacefully and without violence. Three
people were shot and killed that day. An analysis of video by the news organization Últimas
Noticias determined that shots were fired from the direction of plainclothes military troops.
In the aftermath of that protest, President Nicolás Maduro personally ordered my arrest on
charges of murder, arson and terrorism. Amnesty International said the charges seemed like a
“politically motivated attempt to silence dissent.” To this day, no evidence of any kind has been
presented.
Soon, more opposition mayors, elected by an overwhelming majority in December’s elections,
will join me behind bars. Last week the government arrested the mayor of San Cristóbal, where
the student protests began, as well as the mayor of San Diego, who has been accused of
disobeying an order to remove protesters’ barricades. But we will not stay silent. Some believe
that speaking out only antagonizes the ruling party — inviting Mr. Maduro to move more
quickly to strip away rights — and provides a convenient distraction from the economic and
social ruin that is taking place. In my view, this path is akin to a victim of abuse remaining silent
for fear of inviting more punishment.
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More important, millions of Venezuelans do not have the luxury of playing the “long game,” of
waiting for change that never comes.
We must continue to speak, act and protest. We must never allow our nerves to become
deadened to the steady abuse of rights that is taking place. And we must pursue an agenda for
change.
The opposition leadership has outlined a series of actions that are necessary in order to move
forward.
Victims of repression, abuse and torture, as well as family members of those who have died,
deserve justice. Those who are responsible must resign. The pro-government paramilitary
groups, or “colectivos,” that have tried to silence the protests through violence and intimidation
must be disarmed.
All political prisoners and dissenters who were forced into exile by the government, as well as
students who were jailed for protesting, must be allowed to return or be released. This should be
followed by restoring impartiality to important institutions that form the backbone of civil
society, including the electoral commission and the judicial system.
In order to get our economy on the right footing, we need an investigation into fraud committed
through our commission for currency exchange — at least $15 billion was funneled into phantom
businesses and kickbacks last year, a move that has directly contributed to the inflationary spiral
and severe shortages our country is experiencing.
Finally, we need real engagement from the international community, particularly in Latin
America. The outspoken response from human rights organizations is in sharp contrast to the
shameful silence from many of Venezuela’s neighbors in Latin America. The Organization of
American States, which represents nations in the Western Hemisphere, has abstained from any
real leadership on the current crisis of human rights and the looming specter of a failed state,
even though it was formed precisely to address issues like these.
To be silent is to be complicit in the downward spiral of Venezuela’s political system, economy
and society, not to mention in the continued misery of millions. Many current leaders in Latin
America suffered similar abuses in their time and they should not be silent accomplices to the
abuses of today.
For Venezuelans, a change in leadership can be accomplished entirely within a constitutional and
legal framework. We must advocate for human rights; freedom of expression; the right to
property, housing, health and education; equality within the judicial system, and, of course, the
right of protest. These are not radical goals. They are the basic building blocks of society.
Leopoldo López is the former mayor of the Chacao district of Caracas and the leader of the
Popular Will opposition party.
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